Doubts cast over Tamiflu use

There is no clear evidence that antiviral drug Tamiflu prevents flu complications such as pneumonia in healthy people, a panel of experts said.

In fact, they described the drug as having only a "modest effect", as it reduced flu symptoms by approximately one day, if taken early enough.

The team of scientists, led by Professor Chris Del Mar from Bond University in Australia, analysed 20 published studies on the use of antivirals. Eight published studies were excluded as their results could not be verified by other scientists.

Although Tamiflu was found to reduce the symptoms of flu by about a day, the researchers said there is not enough published data to say whether or not taking the drug reduces flu complications such as pneumonia in healthy people.

Dr Fiona Godlee, Editor in Chief of the BMJ, warned that the review leaves important questions about effectiveness unresolved. “Governments around the world have spent billions of pounds on a drug that the scientific community now finds itself unable to judge,” she says.

Claims about the effectiveness of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) against complications have been a deciding factor by governments around the world in whether to stockpile drugs when planning for the possibility of a global pandemic.

The UK Government alone has spent an estimated £500m on flu antiviral drugs.

The results are published in today's British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Commenting on the results, Professor Nick Freemantle from the University of Birmingham, said: “We have remarkably few resources in this country to spend on pharmaceuticals on health and it’s surprising to see such widespread use of oseltamivir.

"But I suppose that once you’ve gone and bought lots of doses then it’s a bit like the situation with gun control in the US. If you have a gun in the house it’s much easier to use it. But it does not mean it’s the right thing to do.”

Dr Fiona Godlee and Professor Mike Clarke, Director of the UK Cochrane Centre which carried out the research, called for worldwide legislation to make sure that "once a trial is completed, there needs to be ready access to the raw data behind any analyses used to licence and market a drug."

This article was published on Wed 9 December 2009