Oseltamivir INN, marketed under the trade name Tamiflu, is an antiviral drug, which may slow the spread of influenza virus between cells in the body by stopping the virus from chemically cutting ties with its host cell. The drug is taken orally in capsules or as a suspension. It is used to treat influenza A virus and influenza B virus. Oseltamivir is a prodrug, a inactive chemical, which is converted into its active form by metabolic process after it is taken into the body. It was the first orally active neuraminidase inhibitor commercially developed. It was developed by C.U. Kim, W. Lew, and X. Chen of US-based Gilead Sciences, and is marketed by Genentech. Several independent analyses of the dozens of double blind, randomized, controlled clinical trials have been published and generally conclude that neuramidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir are modestly effective in the treatment and prevention of influenza A and B infections, and together these studies suggest oseltamivir reduces the median time to symptom alleviation 0.5–1 day. There have been questions about its efficacy as the company that manufactures it has refused to release the trial data for independent analysis. As of December 15, 2010, the World Health Organization reported 314 samples of the prevalent 2009 pandemic H1N1 flu tested worldwide have shown resistance to oseltamivir. Wikipedia [ - ]

Oseltamivir INN, marketed under the trade name Tamiflu, is an antiviral drug, which may slow the... [ + ]