Drugmakers reap huge profits from flu fears

Dubai: International pharmaceutical companies are set to sell hundreds of millions of dollars of drugs that can treat swine flu to governments, despite some expert opinion that the threat of the virus is overblown.

Driven in part by the outbreak of avian flu in 2006, countries have been stockpiling treatments like Relenza and Tamiflu, anti-virals which can also be used to fight swine flu, officially known as the H1N1 virus.

Pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline and Roche have seen notable growth in their sales during the first quarter of 2009.

Sales of Relenza, produced by GlaxoSmith-Kline, reached £222 million (Dh1.3 billion) in the first quarter. Sales of Roche's Tamiflu in the first quarter reached 401 million Swiss francs (Dh1.34 billion).

Swine flu only broke out in late March this year, so drug companies can expect more, and bigger, government orders.

"In 2009 we expect to see further orders from governments," said GlaxoSmithKline's 2008 annual report, citing a UK government plan to double its anti-viral stockpile by purchasing more than ten million treatment courses of Relenza.

Last year, even with a decline in demand for Tamiflu, Roche continued to prioritise manufacturing capacity and preparations for a pandemic.

"We increased our capacity to manufacture Tamiflu, so governments and others could stockpile the drug in case of a pandemic," Roche said in their 2008 annual report.

"Over 80 governments and 300 corporations have done so. While our manufacturing capacity outstrips current demand, this could quickly change in a pandemic."

Some believe governments are intimidated into buying massive stocks of anti-virals through media reports and World Health Organisation warnings.

"For five years we've been engaging in preparations for a pandemic that never came along: Avian flu," said Michael Fumento, author and director of the Independent Journalism Project, where he specialises in science and health issues.

Since 2002 only 262 human deaths have occurred as a result of avian flu, according to the WHO.

Professor James Chin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley, believes measures taken to counteract a pandemic have been too large compared with the lack of action taken against seasonal flu, which kills between 250,000 and 500,000 a year. At the time of going to print, swine flu had killed 263 people.

Swine flu currently is more than ten times less severe than seasonal flu, said Chin.

"It's much less lethal and we're stockpiling drugs, perhaps going to develop a vaccine, telling people to change their travel plans," he said.

Do you think the swine flu problem has been blown out of proportion? Or is it always better to be safe? Should regulations be put in place to avoid people from benefiting from such issues?

This is what swine flu is all about.. first they create.. then they cure... with medicines patented under their names for 15 years... logically... any new medicine needs 10 year trials before going to production as per Federal Drug Agency of USA. How can swine flu break in to a worldwide epidemic a month back and pharmaceuticals (Global drug lords) come up with medicines instantly for cure. It's all about money! Capitalism at its best.
Faraz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 28, 2009, 12:23

Yes, I do agree with Chin and strongly believe that all that is happening, is another maneouvre to make money out of health threat to the globe, and trying to multiply the profit/markup on each unit produced, by 6.5 billion!
Kamran Hanif
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 28, 2009, 09:41