sabre, page-22

re: relenza and the fda The transcript of the FDA meeting in which Michael presented his arguement is here

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/98/transcpt/3471t1.rtf

Basically he argued that Relenza wasn't statistically any better than acetaminophen (pain reliever and fever reducer) and cough syrup in treating the symptoms of influenza.
Since the typical symptom of bird flu is death, treating the symptoms with cough syrup and dealing with the infection with Relenza creates a clearer distinction. What a pity Michael's view of Relenza's worth was ultimately overturned, he could have presented a similar arguement for Tamiflu and relegated research into neuraminidase inhibitors to the waste bin.
We could have been facing a bird flu pandemic armed with cough syrup, on the plus side sabretoothed would be down ramping some other stock.

John