Australia Find H1N1 Strain Resistant To Locally Discovered Relenza
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Australian researchers report the H1N1 flu virus has mutated into a form that could be resistant to the second of the two main antivirals available to treat the disease. They said a strain has been found in laboratory tests, but not yet so far in a patient, that is resistant to Australian-developed Relenza (zanamivir), produced by U.K.-based GlaxoSmithKline. A spokeswoman for Australia's Biota, which discovered the drug, said there is no evidence the mutation has infected patients, so the clinical significance of the report cannot be determined yet. Roche's Tamiflu (oseltamivir) already has been discovered to have an H1N1 strain that is resistant to it. (Click here for more