Japan says no change to Tamiflu stocks after side effect warning |
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Thu, 22 Mar 2007 09:18
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TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japan has no plans to stop stockpiling Tamiflu for a possible bird flu pandemic despite questions over the drug's psychological side effects, health ministry official Takahiro Inoue said.'At this moment, no changes have been made to the (policy on) Tamiflu stocks.'The Tamiflu that is stocked is not used for the (common) form of influenza but for bird flu, against which we have no other weapon,' he said.Japan on Wednesday instructed the Japanese subsidiary of Swiss drugmaker Roche, the manufacturer of the anti-flu medicine, to warn against its prescription for teenagers.Tamiflu has come under investigation in Japan after dozens of people who took the drug killed themselves, though an investigation last year by the US Food and Drug Administration into the deaths in Japan concluded there was no link with Tamiflu.Swiss drugmaker Roche, the manufacturer of Tamiflu, has repeatedly denied any connection between the drug and the incidents.afp/jg
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Japan orders importer of Tamiflu to warn that teenagers should not use the drug 