About Tamiflu

Tamiflu, co-developed with Gilead Sciences is a systemic drug for all common strains of influenza (types A and B). The medication targets one of two major surface structures on the influenza virus, the neuraminidase protein. The neuraminidase protein is virtually the same in all common strains of influenza. If neuraminidase is inhibited, the virus is not able to infect new cells.

Treatment studies in adults show that Tamiflu provides a significant reduction in the severity of symptoms over and above symptom relievers alone, allowing people to feel better faster and to return to their normal lives more quickly. In children Tamiflu, taken orally as a convenient sirup also reduced severity of symptoms and reduced the occurrence of otitis media, a secondary infection often seen with influence disease. Tamiflu has been shown to be effective in a variety of settings for the prevention of influenza, providing immediate protection during an influenza outbreak.

Tamiflu is approved for the treatment of influenza in over 50 countries world-wide including Australia, Canada, EU, Japan, Switzerland, United States, as well as many countries in the Far East and Latin America. More than 10 million patients have been treated with Tamiflu since launch. It is also approved in many countries for the prevention of influenza in adolescents and adults and for the treatment of influenza in children aged 1 year and above.

The influenza virus responsible for the outbreak in Hong Kong in1997 was also an ¡®H5N1¡¯ strain and Tamiflu demonstrated activity in an animal model at concentrations equivalent to those of the 75 mg twice daily dose approved for treating influenza in humans.