The medical journal British Medical Journal (BMJ) throws a stone in the pond. While the first cases of flu are reported in France, it suggests that the Tamiflu, the main antiviral drug recommended, would be ineffective.
Undisclosed study results
According to British Medical Journal, the Roche laboratory, manufacturer of the famous Tamiflu (oseltamivir), refuses to disclose the full results of its studies on the effectiveness of the antiviral. Results demanded since 2009! Enough to cast doubt on the content of these studies and therefore on the effectiveness of Tamiflu itself….
“Roche has not disclosed data indicating that Tamiflu has ‘dramatic’ effects. We all wonder why it is so difficult to get this data, and why Roche has not released it if it is true that they show these effects, “asks Peter Gøtzsche, head of the Nordic Cochrane Center in Copenhagen, an independent health research and information center.
So far, we only know that in the case of the common flu, Tamiflu should be taken within 48 hours and can reduce the duration of the flu. symptoms 24 hours. On the other hand, in the case of a more severe flu, such as influenza A, no study has demonstrated its effectiveness … Observations during the 2009 epidemic nevertheless seem to show that taking Tamiflu would reduce the number of deaths.
Call for boycott
Although the Roche laboratory says it has made all the data from the clinical studies available to national health authorities, the European Medicines Agency has confirmed to Cochrane researchers that it does not have certain elements of the studies. “We know that for at least 15 Roche clinical studies on Tamiflu, the European Medicines Agency does not have the full report,” the researchers say.
Recall that in 2009, the French government spent billions of euros to obtain stocks of Tamiflu during the epidemic of influenza A. Peter Gøtzsche suggests boycotting Roche products until he releases all data on Tamiflu. He also urges governments to ask the laboratory for reimbursement of public funds invested in these stocks of Tamiflu.
