UK scientists slam flu drug but other experts say it helps and should continue to be used

LONDON – British scientists say there isn’t enough evidence to prove the antiviral drug Tamiflu reduces the spread of flu.

The findings published Thursday in the journal BMJ question whether governments worldwide were justified in spending millions on the drug during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

Researchers at the Cochrane Collaboration and the BMJ say Tamiflu reduces flu symptoms by about a half a day in adults but has little effect in children.

Compared to people taking a placebo pill, they say there was no proof people taking Tamiflu were less likely to be hospitalized or suffer serious flu complications.

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, which makes Tamiflu, said they “fundamentally disagree” with the overall conclusions of the BMJ series and said more than 100 countries have approved Tamiflu worldwide.