U.S. antiviral supplies tighten as prescriptions soar

By Toni Clarke

BOSTON (Reuters) - Pharmacies across the country are struggling to meet demand for antiviral medications as anxious patients rush to fill prescriptions, raising the specter of supply shortages for those who really need treatment.

Prescriptions for Tamiflu and Relenza, which are believed to mitigate symptoms of the new Influenza A H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu, are skyrocketing.

Demand for the two drugs, as well as older antivirals that do not work against swine flu, are running nearly nine times higher than normal for this time of year, according to SDI, which provides healthcare analysis for the pharmaceutical industry.

In big metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles, demand is running as much as 16 times higher than normal.

So far, hoarding has not prevented supplies reaching people who actually fall sick, and distributors such as Cardinal Health Inc and AmerisourceBergen Corp say they still have plenty of supply. In addition, the U.S. government has 50 million doses in a national stockpile and recently released 25 percent of those doses.

But if the new flu continues to spread or worsen, distributors say they may be instructed by the government to redirect supply to the most needy areas, and restrictions may be placed on physicians to ensure the drugs are prescribed only to people who need treatment.

"Right now there is no formal effort to restrict the use of Tamiflu, but if the spread continues there may be more prescription regulation," said Dr. Joseph Stubbs, president of the American College of Physicians. "Our guidelines will largely reflect what the CDC guides us to do."

Current guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, are to write prescriptions for patients who have a confirmed or suspected case of swine flu or those who are exposed to an infected person and have an underlying condition such as heart disease.