BCRX potential

According to Health and Human Services (HHS) Dr. Robin Robinson:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE56669020090709

The federal government has 52 million treatment courses of Tamiflu and Relenza in its strategic national stockpile. Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, is made by Roche under license from Gilead Sciences while Relenza, or zanamivir, is made by Glaxo under license from Australia's Biota Inc.

Dr. Robin Robinson of HHS said the department is also considering buying another tranche of drugs, including zanamivir and pediatric doses of Tamiflu.

A third drug, Biocryst Inc's peramivir, is nearing final trials before approval, Robinson said. "That would be used for severely ill individuals in hospitals," he said.

Having three different drugs would help address the issue of resistance. Some cases of the new H1N1 swine flu have been resistant to Tamiflu and that drug is now generally ineffective against the seasonal version of H1N1, a distant cousin of the pandemic strain.

Also, start reading on page 74 of the following National Biodefense Science Board report during a recent emergency meeting at the HHS regarding H1N1 countermeasures. The fact that BioCryst was at the meeting is a portent:

http://www.hhs.gov/aspr/conferences/nbsb/nbsb-h1n1forum-sum-090617.pdf