As recently as the 2009 swine-flu outbreak, authorities had to warn people against panic-buying Tamiflu over the Internet. My how the tide has turned these days Roche is under fire for not providing certain clinical data on the drug after researchers say there s little evidence it works.
The critics are right, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom, who worked as a research chemist for 27 years, writes in Medical Progress Today.
Even the most scientifically rigorous and creative technology can be outdone by the tricks that the virus has up its sleeve, he says. Viruses mutate like crazy and the best way to encourage that is with a drug that inhibits the replication of their natural strain. That s why the anti-AIDS drug AZT showed promise at first, but then was quickly rendered ineffective. And that s exactly what s happening with Tamiflu, Dr. Bloom writes. His article is a bit technical, but you ll come away with a greater understanding of virology and how Tamiflu works.