Tamiflu: how drug became last line of defence against flu

The drug is derived from star anise, a liquorice-flavoured fruit long utilized in Chinese medication to deal with a assortment of maladies such as colic in babies and abdomen cramps.

When the drug was initial developed in the 1990s researchers manufactured it employing a kind of acid discovered in the tropical cinchona tree as an alternative, but this was replaced by acid from star anise when Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, bought the license for the drug.

Employing a number of chemical processes – some involving explosive elements – scientists convert the acid into a drug which is unrecognisable from the authentic acid.

Tamiflu’s companies say it can trigger sideeffects such as allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting and abdominal discomfort as well as hallucinations in young children.

But a new evaluation by the Cochrane Collaboration has advised there is “no great evidence” to assistance claims that it can decrease flu-connected hospital admissions or issues.

On regular the drug shortens flu signs by a day and a half, and when employed as a preventive treatment method it can avert symptoms from creating, but it does not stop men and women spreading the virus to other folks.

The results will raise further questions more than the Government’s determination to stockpile the drug as a defence towards pandemic flu. Roche mentioned it “fundamentally disagrees” with the assessment.

Dr Daniel Thurley, the company’s healthcare director in the United kingdom, explained : “Roche stands behind the wealth of information for Tamiflu and the selections of public wellness agencies throughout the world, which includes the US and European Centres for Condition Handle and Prevention and the World Health Organisation.”

Tamiflu: how drug became last line of defence against flu