Tamiflu data show very low resistance: Roche

Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche Holding AG said on Wednesday new data showed patients using its anti-flu drug Tamiflu rarely developed resistance to it.

The data, published by the United Nations’ World Health Organisation, showed resistance of around 0.3 percent to Tamiflu, also called oseltamivir, during the influenza seasons in which there had been substantial Tamiflu use in Japan.

“This level of resistance is extremely low compared to rates of 65 percent seen in Japan with another antiviral, amantadine,” Roche said in a statement.

Tamiflu is recommended by the WHO as a first-line defence against avian influenza, or birdflu. Governments have stockpiled millions of Tamiflu doses to employ in the case of a pandemic influenza outbreak.

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