I must give credit to Seany's
Tamiflu Maufacturing Predicted a 531% Sales Increase in 2009
!! for inspiring me into being a bit nosey.
It turns out that sales of GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza (Tamiflu's major competitor) fell %80 in 2008.
According to the page 36 of the 2008 GSK report:
Sales of flu anti-viral Relenza fell %80 to £57 million reflecting fewer government orders for pre-pandemic stockpiling.
GKS 2008 report page 37
On page 37 you can see a table that shows in 2007 total sales of Relenza totalled £262 million. A staggering reduction. In 2008, compared to 2007 the
US alone reduced it's uptake by %86.
Which is strange seeing as the Washington Post reported that
Many States Do Not Meet Readiness Standards in May
2009.
About Relenza
Clinicall Info - Relenza EMC
I find the drastic drop interesting, but am not too sure what to make of it.
Relenza has been in production since 1999 and has a shelf life of 7 years (see info link above), is it possible that it was just time to
replenish/replace stocks in 2007? It strikes me as a little too coincidental.
I suggest that that worldwide, TPTB knew something was on the horizon and bought up big OR they were buying as normal and got wind of a pandemic and
STOPPED buying.
It just doesn't seem plausable that an %80 reduction in Relenza sales should precede (by chance) a pandemic of the very disease that it is meant to
fight.
Or am I just seeing shadows?
Whatever you think, sales for 2009 will be vastly increased:
Glaxo’s Relenza Beat Rival Tamiflu in Stockpile Sales
Bloombergnew.com — GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s flu drug Relenza beat Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu in sales to governments for the first time last
quarter, a sign authorities are seeking a broader range of medicines to protect against a pandemic.
Government orders of Relenza were 20 percent higher than those for Tamiflu in the first quarter, according to data from both companies released before
the current swine flu outbreak.
Demand for Relenza was stoked by reports of widespread resistance of H1N1, a common seasonal flu virus, to Tamiflu. The U.K. and Japan increased
orders for the drug to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic on concern Tamiflu-evading seasonal flu could exchange genes with a pandemic strain,
making that pill a weaker weapon against a global contagion. Almost all H1N1 samples tested last winter were resistant to Tamiflu, the World Health
Organization said.
Now look at this, compared to the sales in 2007 when there was no Swine Flu.
Governments ordered about 220 million pounds ($322 million) of Relenza in the three months ending in March, Rea said. That compares with orders
for Tamiflu of 304 million francs ($266 million), Basel, Switzerland-based Roche said April 17.
Amazing, maybe they stopped selling (or government insiders working for GKS reduced orders) in 2008 so that they could sell at a premium when in
demand in 2009? Imagine how supply and demand would affect the price of Relenza once a Pandemic was confirmed by WHO.
[edit on 22-7-2009 by kiwifoot]