Drug combo could stretch Tamiflu supplies - doctors
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Scarce supplies of Tamiflu, which is being stockpiled by governments in case of an influenza pandemic, could be stretched by giving it with another drug, doctors said on Tuesday.
Governments have been advised to stock up on Tamiflu, a prescribed drug for seasonal flu, because it will be a first line of defence if the H5N1 bird flu circulating in Asia and reported in other areas mutates into a human pandemic strain.
Joe Howton, a medical director at the Adventist Medical Center in Portland, Oregon believes probenecid, a treatment for gout which is used with some antibiotics to boost effectiveness, could have a similar impact with Tamiflu.
No one knows how effective the drug will be against a pandemic strain but it is considered the best option until a vaccine can be developed.
Howton was browsing through safety data published by the drug’s Swiss manufacturer Roche when he noticed that giving Tamiflu with probenecid doubles the number of hours its active ingredient is in the blood.
Probenecid works by preventing the drugs from being removed from the body by the kidneys.
“It dawned on me that the data potentially represented a tremendous therapeutic benefit,” he told the science journal Nature.
If he is right, half a dose of Tamiflu with probenecid would be as effective as a full dose without it.
LACK OF APPROVAL
But Roche, which published the data on probenecid in 2002, said it could not advocate combined treatment because of the lack of clinical data and regulatory approval.
“Given where we are, with the potential for a pandemic, the clearest vision we can have is to dramatically increase the availability of this drug and make all information available,” said David Reddy, Roche’s influenza pandemic task force leader.
“We’re working with external groups to determine the activity of Tamiflu against H5N1 isolates as they emerge and on other relevant clinical studies,” he added.
More than 60 people have died from the H5N1 strain in Asia. Medical experts fear it could spark a global pandemic if it mutates into a highly infectious virus in humans.
President George W. Bush asked the U.S. Congress for $7.1 billion on Tuesday to prepare for a pandemic flu, including $1.2 billion for 20 million doses of a vaccine against H5N1 bird flu.
Roche has cranked up production of the drug but even the most optimistic estimates suggests the company can only meet a small fraction of global demand for the drug.
It halted deliveries of Tamiflu to the United States and Canada last week until the start of the flu season because the firm feared demand by companies and individuals could deplete stocks.
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