Companies stock up on bird flu drug, maker says
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - More than 100 companies of all sizes have contacted Roche, maker of influenza drug Tamiflu, about getting supplies for their employees in case of a bird-flu pandemic, the company says.
Governments around the world have been building stockpiles of the drug, which has been shown to help treat human bird-flu patients, but experts are urging individuals and companies to make their own preparations.
"To date, more than 100 corporations have contacted us about purchasing Tamiflu," Roche spokesman Terence Hurley told Reuters.
These include a "range of industries -- pharmaceuticals, financial, media and energy -- and sizes -- mom and pop operations to Fortune 500 companies", he added.
"We have filled close to 60 orders so far ranging from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of treatment courses. We received a flurry of calls after the government released its pandemic plan recently."
The U.S. plan does not explicitly encourage companies to buy Tamiflu, a prescription drug. But it includes a checklist that suggests companies should do what they believe is necessary to protect employees and stay in business.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N13129143.htm
I'll be darned, it just struck me, there will be a black market for Tamiflu at some future point. Or/and...this is a 'stick-up', give me your Tamiflu, lol.