By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY Drugmaker Roche on Thursday announced the launch of a program that allows U.S. companies to stockpile their own supplies of Tamiflu should a flu pandemic occur. State, federal and foreign governments already have been stockpiling Tamiflu, an anti-viral drug used to prevent and treat influenza, in the event of a flu pandemic. A flu pandemic occurs when a new flu strain emerges that spreads easily, putting everyone at risk because no one has built-in immunity. The emergence of a new flu strain, H5N1, or bird flu, in the late '90s raised concerns about a potential pandemic. To participate in Roche's program, a company would have to commit to a minimum order of 2,500 courses of the drug at $6 each (less than 10% of the final market price), for an annual fee of $15,000, said Roche President and CEO...
[read full story]
Your Web Site
