Japan finds no Tamiflu link to abnormal behavior

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese government-backed research group has found no evidence that flu drug Tamiflu causes abnormal behavior in young people, a health ministry official said on Friday.

The study, which could lead to the lifting of warnings in Japan on the prescription of the drug to those between the ages of 10 and 19, was carried out in response to incidents that came to light last year in which young people jumped from buildings while taking Tamiflu.

The drug is distributed in Japan, a heavy user of Tamiflu, by Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd through its partnership with developer Roche.

The findings will be presented to a drug safety panel at the ministry, which may decide to withdraw warnings against Tamiflu use in young people, which were introduced in March last year, the ministry official said.

"The timing of the presentation is not decided, but we want to do it as soon as possible," he said.

Japan and other countries have stockpiled Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, as a precaution against a feared pandemic of a new and deadly type of influenza, which scientists say may develop from bird flu.

The Japanese study looked at 10,000 people under the age of 18 who were diagnosed with influenza in 2006 and 2007, the Nikkei financial daily said.

Interviews with doctors and family members revealed that those who took Tamiflu were marginally less likely to have exhibited abnormal behavior than those who did not, the Nikkei said.

A spokesman for Chugai Pharmaceutical declined to comment on the results of the study.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Chris Gallagher)