The Story of Influenza Antivirals: Part 3

Questioning the Miracle

We trundled along to 2009, when the world confronted the first influenza pandemic of the century. 

But everything was under control -  the supplies of Tamiflu were protected by an armed guard. The drug had taken on a near-mythical status as the pandemic’s magic bullet.  Specially guarded sites would hand out the drug, and to further heighten its value, the word on the street was the ‘thieves’ were out to ‘target official distribution points.’  Apparently, it would sell on the black market for a fortune.  The upcoming UK Civil Contingencies Committee (COBR) would iron out any problems. In April, it would decide when and to whom to hand out the wonder drug. 

In reality,  it wasn't much of a pandemic, but it was enough to trigger the pre-arranged plans and, on a tiny scale, the updating of our Cochrane review. One thing puzzled us, though: how exactly did the miracle status of Tamiflu emerge? 

Expert opinion certainly played a role in this status. Professor John Oxford was one of the essent…