If sent, it would be the first such delivery since 2009, when Seoul provided around 400,000 doses of Tamiflu and 100,000 doses of
Relenza antiviral drugs to North Korea via a land route across their western border.
(2014) Tamiflu &
Relenza how effective are they?
The antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu), and zanamivir (
Relenza) were prescribed to only 19 percent of those participants who who were at high risk for flu complications and saw a primary care provider within two days of their flu symptoms emerging.
"Both M2-ion channel blockers, such as amantadine, and neuraminidase inhibitors, such as Tamiflu or
Relenza, are used as antiviral drugs for influenza infections of humans," Richt said.
Tamiflu and another anti-influenza drug,
Relenza, focus on interrupting neuraminidase's ability to help influenza detach from an infected cell's surface by digesting sialic acid, a sugar on the surface of the cell.
The new Biota Pharmaceuticals will have royalty generating products
Relenza, Inavir and potentially PhosLyra, programmes for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and hepatitis C (HCV-NN), a broad spectrum antibiotic targeting gyrase (GYR), a USD231m (EUR175m) worth contract with Barda to develop laninamivir, as well as a USD100m cash interest in the nicotine conjugate vaccine NicVAX.
Revenues in fiscal 2009/10 included AUD63.7m in royalties from Biota's flue drug
Relenza, due to the H1N1 pandemic, compared to royalties of AUD6.6m in fiscal 2010/11.
The new deal also includes an undertaking to buy an as yet undefined amount of the H5N1 bird flu vaccine and anti-viral flu treatment
Relenza.
This product is marketed worldwide by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) (LSE:GSK) (NYSE:GSK) under the trade name
Relenza. GSK granted a licence to Simcere in 2006 to manufacture and sell Zanamivir and its formulations in China.
Eight cold-storage trucks will deliver Tamiflu for 400,000 people and
Relenza for 100,000 by an overland route across the western border between the two Koreas, Chun Hae Sung said in a press briefing.