Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) News and Research

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Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) is an antiviral drug approved for treatment of uncomplicated influenza A and B in patients 1 year of age or older. It is also approved for prophylaxis (prevention) of influenza in people 13 years or older after household contact or at high risk for exposure during influenza season. Tamiflu is one of a group of anti-influenza drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors that act by blocking the viral enzyme neuraminidase which helps the influenza virus invade cells in the respiratory tract.

Guidance on use of Tamiflu needs to be reviewed in light of most recent evidence

Tamiflu (the antiviral drug oseltamivir) shortens symptoms of influenza by half a day, but there is no good evidence to support claims that it reduces admissions to hospital or complications of influenza.

11 Apr 2014

New drug-resistant strain of bird flu appears to retain ability to cause serious disease in humans

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai reported that a virulent new strain of influenza - the virus that causes the flu - appears to retain its ability to cause serious disease in humans even after it develops resistance to antiviral medications. The finding was included in a study that was published today in the journal Nature Communications.

12 Dec 2013

Influenza drug: an interview with Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, CSIRO

Influenza or flu for short is caused by a family of viruses, which can be called influenza A or influenza B. Influenza A viruses are found in humans, animals – like swine and horses- and mostly aquatic birds. Influenza B is only found in humans.

11 Mar 2013

LASAG trial for severe influenza initiated

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12 Feb 2013

C&EN explains logic behind odd-sounding generic names

Oseltamivir. Esomeprazole. Trastuzumab. Where do drugs get those odd-sounding generic names? The answers are in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, which explains the logic behind the tongue-twisters.

19 Jan 2012

Tamiflu resistant flu on the rise: Study

According to World Health Organization researchers there is a rise in Australia in the number of seasonal influenza cases resistant to Tamiflu, the most commonly used antiviral drug. The rise in such cases involving the pandemic 2009 A (H1N1) flu strain, also known as swine flu, took place during Australia's most recent winter: May through August of 2011.

2 Jan 2012

MRSA co-infection increases risk of flu-related mortality among children

During the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, many previously healthy children became critically ill, developing severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, sometimes fatal. The largest nationwide investigation to date of influenza in critically ill children, led by Children's Hospital Boston, found one key risk factor: Simultaneous infection with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) increased the risk for flu-related mortality 8-fold among previously healthy children.

7 Nov 2011

Romark announces results from NT-300 Phase 2B-3 trial on influenza

Romark Laboratories announced that results of a large Phase 2B-3 US clinical trial of its new flu drug, NT-300 (nitazoxanide), will be presented as an oral late-breaking communication at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) being held in Boston, October 20-23, 2011.

22 Oct 2011

Tamiflu resistant flu found in Newcastle, Australia

The influenza pandemic has gathered a lot of action, advice and coverage over the last few years. In 2009, an international H1N1 influenza pandemic led to concerns that there would be a repeat of the 1918 influenza pandemic which resulted in millions of deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization recorded over 37,000 cases of the H1N1 pandemic influenza in Australia and 193 confirmed deaths.

2 Sep 2011

Universal flu vaccine with super antibodies in near future

Researchers are close to developing a “super antibody” against flu that could be used as a universal treatment and pave the way for the development of a universal vaccine against the disease that affects billions of people every year.

29 Jul 2011

Flu deaths analyzed for future lessons

A new report has looked at all of England’s swine flu deaths in children under 18 during the 2009 pandemic. Researchers found that there was a higher risk of dying from the influenza A H1N1 strain of flu among certain groups of children, such as those with pre-existing conditions and those of a Pakistani or Bangladeshi background. However it was unclear why.

27 Oct 2010

New development in flu prevention & treatment

In a groundbreaking development, scientists at the Australian National University in Canberra have found the key to the mutation of the flu virus. This may allow the manufacturing of a life-long vaccine stopping the need for repeated vaccinations. The scientists reveal that they have found a protein in the virus that changes or mutates in order to develop resistance in the virus.

20 Jul 2010

Caltech biologists pinpoint molecular changes that help allow global spread of resistance to Tamiflu

Biologists at the California Institute of Technology have pinpointed molecular changes that helped allow the global spread of resistance to the antiviral medication Tamiflu (oseltamivir) among strains of the seasonal H1N1 flu virus.

4 Jun 2010

CMAJ study: Increased dosage of Tamiflu required in treating H1N1 influenza patients

An increased dosage of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for patients with critical illness is unlikely to be required in the treatment of pandemic (H1N1) influenza, contrary to current international guidelines, found a new study http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/doi/10.1503/cmaj.092127 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca.

17 Feb 2010

Romark Laboratories commences enrollment in Alinia clinical trial for acute uncomplicated influenza

Romark Laboratories announced that it has initiated enrollment of patients in a clinical trial of Alinia® (nitazoxanide) for treating acute uncomplicated influenza including illness caused by the currently circulating H1N1 strain.

1 Feb 2010

Roche ships additional quantities of Tamiflu oral suspension

Roche announced today that it has begun shipping additional quantities of Tamiflu® (oseltamivir phosphate) oral suspension (liquid).

3 Dec 2009

Web site marketing fraudulent H1N1 flu supplements warned by the FDA and the FTC

On October 15, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a joint warning letter to a Web site marketing fraudulent supplements that claim to help prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus.

20 Oct 2009

FDA urges consumers to exercise care on online H1N1 drug products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today warned consumers to use extreme care when purchasing any products over the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus.

19 Oct 2009

TCAD therapy shows potency against seasonal and novel H1N1 influenza viruses

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that a multi-center in vitro study of its proprietary triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy showed substantially greater potency against seasonal and novel H1N1 influenza viruses than currently recommended single or double therapy and that the triple combination is active against drug-resistant flu strains.

14 Sep 2009

New Influenza A/H1N1 detection kit launched

QIAGEN, today announced both the launch of a new Influenza A/H1N1 test and several updates to its activities in providing solutions for the global surveillance of the swine flu pandemic. QIAGEN’s new kit enables both the highly sensitive and specific detection of the novel Influenza A/H1N1, the virus that causes “swine flu”, as well as of all other known Influenza A and B virus strains.

10 Sep 2009