Heads shaking at flu drug ads
Professor says firm pushing product that's pricey, only modestly effective
WASHINGTON -- Roche is revving up its most ambitious advertising campaign for the prescription antiviral drug Tamiflu .
The treatment, sold as a pill, is intended to be taken at the first sign of flu symptoms to lessen the severity and duration of the symptoms.
Like a lot of drug advertising, the campaign is drawing some criticism claiming the company is driving up demand for an expensive drug that has been shown to be only modestly effective.
But Roche believes there's plenty of room for Tamiflu in consumers' medicine cabinets. The company plans to promote Tamiflu over the Thanksgiving holiday through playful, eye-catching advertisements in print publications and movie theaters, on television and websites, and in airports that will be filled with families.
The pitch stars the same penguins that appear in the Warner Bros. animated movie " Happy Feet, " which opens nationwide Nov. 17 . One airport advertisement features a half-dozen penguins on a snow-swept landscape explaining how to get speedier relief from flu symptoms.
Roche will only say it is spending a "significant" amount of money on the campaign. The unbranded advertising -- meaning that it does not mention Tamiflu by name -- is an attempt to raise awareness before the onset of flu season, it said.
"Flu is a serious illness that affects up to 40 million Americans every year," said Terence J. Hurley , a Roche spokesman. "Surprisingly, people don't realize this and aren't aware that there are treatment and prevention options."
Third-quarter worldwide Tamiflu sales rose to $1.3 billion , Roche reported, an increase of 88 percent over the year prior. Ten pills cost about $80 on the website drugstore.com and the adult dose is two pills daily for five days.
The Centers for Disease Control says "the single best way to prevent the flu" is through a vaccine, which people get before they are sick. This year, federal officials expect there will be plenty of flu vaccine -- up to 115 million doses in the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration, which approved Tamiflu in 1999, also permits its use to "reduce the chance" of getting the flu during an outbreak. The Roche-sponsored flufacts.com website suggests patients ask doctors for the antiviral, even if they are not sick.
"Not only can antivirals help treat the flu, they can also help prevent you from getting it," according to the website. "For example, if you or your loved ones experience symptoms that are consistent with the flu (sudden symptoms, chills, fever), an antiviral will help to protect them from getting this virus. Be sure to speak to your doctor about prevention so when that time comes that someone close to you has the flu, you can protect yourself."
The company's tactics drew sharp criticism from a Harvard Medical School professor who said it is irresponsibly promoting Tamiflu. Dr. Jerry Avorn , who is the author of "Powerful Medicines ," called Tamiflu's effectiveness marginal. Such advertising misleads consumers by overstating the drug's "slender" benefits, he said.
"It's not as if this somehow cures the flu or treats the flu. It just will shorten the symptoms by a day or so," Avorn said.
He also worries that the drug's indiscriminate use could reduce its value when the stakes are highest: Combating a perilous avian flu outbreak.
Tamiflu plays a key role in the nation's planned defense against such an outbreak, but that protection could weaken if Americans build up resistance to the antiviral, Avorn said.
"This is beyond just wasting a lot of people's money," he said. "This is about encouraging people to use -- and use up -- a drug that is one of the only drugs we will have in reserve in case avian flu strikes. I think that is irresponsible."
Roche, in a prepared statement, said it will double its Tamiflu supply in the United States, ensuring availability during the flu season and for pandemic planning.
The ads "do not advocate personal stockpiling, nor does Roche," Hurley said.
Researchers say such ad campaigns can cause prescription drug sales to spike. A recent study found a seven-fold increase in Tamiflu prescriptions last fall as Americans stockpiled the drug during an international avian flu outbreak .
Diedtra Henderson can be reached at dhenderson@globe.com. 