Dr Anne Moscona isn't a Roche stooge, so when she's quoted in a news article you know the article will be balanced. The U.S. is finally waking up to their mistake, I doubt GSK will be able to fill the Relenza orders that are coming soon,... that's always been a problem.
"Tamiflu and Relenza have been stockpiled by the federal government for treating the public in case of the emergence of a dangerous pandemic flu. Four times as many Tamiflu doses have been stockpiled as Relenza doses.
Some microbiologists have argued that Tamiflu is more likely to develop resistance than Relenza. Therefore, they say, Relenza should make up at least 50% of the stockpiled antivirals.
"There have been people, and I'm one of them, that have suggested that there be more of an equal stockpiling of oseltamivir and zanamivir," said Dr. Anne Moscona, a pediatrician and professor of microbiology and immunology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Both drugs reduce the replication of influenza viruses by blocking an enzyme called neuraminidase. To do so, they slip into a pocket in the enzyme. The pocket has to change shape to accommodate Tamiflu, but not for Relenza. If a mutation in the virus stops the pocket from changing shape, Tamiflu can no longer slip in to do its work, Moscona said.
Tamiflu became the more popular drug because it can be taken orally in pill or liquid form, whereas Relenza must be inhaled and can't be used by young children or the elderly."
"Viruses also swap genes among themselves, and one fear is that the resistance mutation will be passed on to other flu viruses, including the deadly H5N1 bird flu circulating in Asia.
For now, H5N1 responds to Tamiflu, although it must be administered early. The virus is more than 60% fatal in humans."
