The company says the 75mg capsules for treating adults and the liquid form of Tamiflu will continue to be available.
The shelf life of the capsules is 5 years, which is considerably longer than the 24-month shelf life of the standard liquid suspension formulation. This longer shelf life means the drug could be stockpiled in the event of a bird flu pandemic. Many countries are beginning to do this to lessen the impact should one occur.
“Roche continues to take steps to facilitate the use of antivirals in pandemic preparedness and response,” Dominick Iacuzio, medical director at Roche, commented.