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Biosecurity BriefingMaker of Tamiflu® Announces Program to Encourage Corporate Stockpiling of Antivirals By Brooke Courtney, June 27, 2008 Roche U.S.A. announced on June 26, 2008, the introduction of a flexible program to allow U.S. businesses to purchase and maintain access to their own stockpiles of the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for use during an influenza pandemic.1 According to Roche and a CIDRAP News report, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has endorsed Roche’s new program.1,2 Under the plan, Roche will charge participating businesses an annual fee of $6 per 10-tablet treatment course of Tamiflu, which is about one-sixth of the purchase cost, to reserve, store, and rotate a minimum order of 2,500 courses.1,2 When a business, which has the option to renew its contract annually, decides to take possession of its stockpile, it can purchase the medicine from Roche at the prevailing wholesale price.1 The pharmaceutical company also guarantees that it will deliver the medicine to the business “within 48 hours in most circumstances.”1 In addition to the new plan, Roche will still allow businesses to purchase supplies of Tamiflu outright if they prefer to pre-distribute the antivirals to their employees.1 To date, Roche reports that it has received inquiries about Tamiflu from more than 800 U.S.-based companies and orders of Tamiflu from more than 300 businesses.1 Order quantities have ranged from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of treatment courses.1 According to the CIDRAP News report, while the program is currently only available to U.S. employers, Roche has plans to replicate it throughout the world.2 According to Mike McGuire, vice president of anti-infectives for Roche, “This program addresses questions we’ve heard from executives, who are interested in securing Tamiflu for their employees, but desire more flexible planning options.”1 Commenting on Roche’s new program, HHS Deputy Secretary Tevi Troy stated that “Stockpiling of antivirals…is a shared responsibility that extends across all levels of government and all segments of society. Planning efforts by business and private industry, such as this new Roche stockpiling program, comprise a fundamental part of our nation’s efforts to ensure community resilience in a public health emergency.”1 As previously reported in the Biosecurity Briefing, HHS recently issued draft guidance for employers considering stockpiling antivirals for prophylaxis.3 According to that guidance, the federal government strongly encourages employers of all sizes to plan for a pandemic and advocates the use of antivirals as one of several approaches to protect individuals, particularly those in critical infrastructure and front-line health care positions, during a pandemic.4 The HHS guidance further states that while newly proposed guidance recommends expanding antiviral use to include prophylaxis, plans do not exist to expand public sector antiviral stockpiles for such prophylaxis and “employers will have to take the lead role for protection of their workforce.”4 According to HHS, “Private stockpiles, in coordination with public health stockpiles, would extend protection more broadly than could be achieved through the public sector alone.”4 References
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