People worried about the current seasonal and swine flu outbreaks are calling for the wider availability of the Tamiflu drug. But the anti-viral may be far less effective than the manufacturer claims.
Researchers have discovered that Tamiflu (oseltamivir) does not reduce complications in adults who develop flu – the very thing that Tamiflu’s manufacturer, Roche, claims it will do.
Roche says the benefits have been confirmed in 10 trials that have not been published – but has so far refused to release them to researchers at the Cochrane Group.
The Cochrane researchers say: “If you swallow a medication, you need to know how it works – for real.”
(Source: Cochrane Database, doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008965).
