The Bright Side of Bird Flu
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The Bright Side of Bird Flu Potential Pandemic Boosts Pharmaceutical Products and Pipeline Executive summary The emergence of bird flu infecting humans in Asia has raised concerns of an impending pandemic and is consequently boosting sales of pharmaceuticals on the market and stimulating pipeline development. The first line of defense in a near-term pandemic will probably be Tamiflu® (oseltamivir), an orally administered small molecule whose sales have been stimulated by the recent bird flu fears. However, in the longer term, vaccines will be the preferred option for logistical and economic reasons. Although currently licensed human vaccines are being adapted to protect against bird flu, problems of limited supply and slow response to pandemics are stimulating the development of quicker manufacturing processes and novel vaccines.
The last global epidemic (pandemic) of influenza was in 1968 – 38 years ago. Considering that pandemics occur on average every 33 years, another could be considered likely soon on the basis of statistics alone. However, the recent emergence of bird flu (avian influenza) infecting – and killing – people in Asia provides a much more substantial reason for concern, even a sense of inevitability, that another pandemic looms on the horizon. Regardless of exactly when the next flu pandemic does occur, the current outbreak of bird flu is acting as a stimulus on pharmaceutical products on the market as well as experimental agents in the pipeline.
Antiviral agents form first line of defence Currently, preventative vaccination remains the primary weapon against human influenza. However, with the very recent emergence of the bird flu threat, avian influenza vaccines are not yet ready for human use. Consequently, antiviral drugs, rather than vaccines, will represent the first line of defense if a bird flu pandemic hits soon. There are four main antiviral drugs licensed for human influenza, the generics amantadine and rimantadine and the newer neuraminidase inhibitors Tamiflu® (oseltamivir) – developed by Gilead Sciences and marketed by Roche – and Relenza® (zanamivir) from Biota and GlaxoSmithKline. Whereas amantadine and rimantadine only inhibit type A influenza, have adverse neurological and gastrointestinal effects and are associated with rapid development of viral resistance, Tamiflu and Relenza have
minimal adverse effects and are associated with a much lower rate of viral resistance. Both agents are also effective prophylactics and have been shown to limit disease spread in close communities such as families and nursing homes. Although prophylactic use of Tamiflu and Relenza is not recommended in place of influenza vaccine, it is an alternative for poor responders to vaccine such as the elderly, as well as during pandemics when demand for vaccine outstrips supply.
Tamiflu sales boosted by bird flu threat In the absence of vaccines against bird flu, Tamiflu has emerged as the preferred option for healthcare strategies designed to manage an outbreak of avian influenza, as it is taken as an ora
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