THE head of the Melbourne company that developed one of the anti-viral drugs being used to treat swine flu has warned that the stockpiles of the drug held by governments around the world are not big enough to cope with a pandemic.
"Probably most countries in the world are underprepared," said Peter Cook, chief executive of Biota, the company that developed the anti-flu drug Relenza.
"Australia happens to be better than most, but I don't think any country in the world is prepared to cope with a 1918 pandemic."
The latest outbreak of swine flu has already claimed more than 100 lives in Mexico and has also been found in the United States and New Zealand.
Governments around the world have stockpiled Relenza, and the other anti-viral drug Tamiflu, in preparation for an outbreak. The World Health Organisation has confirmed that the swine flu is responding to the two drugs, and the US Government said it was readying 25 per cent of its 50 million course stockpile for use.
"Even though it's a new strain, it's not a resistant strain so therefore Relenza is one of the appropriate therapies," Mr Cook said. The US Centre for Disease Control has indicated the drug was most effective if used within 36 hours of symptoms of the flu emerging.
Biota has licenced the drug to global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, who said through an Australian spokeswoman today that the drug maker had "increased production globally" following the weekend outbreak. Relenza is produced at three sites around the world - in France, the US and at Boronia, in Melbourne's east.
The Australian Government has a stockpile of 8.7 million courses of Tamiflu and Relenza, covering about one-third of the population, putting it behind countries such as Britain and France, which have enough courses to treat over half their population.
But with each course lasting about one week, Mr Cook said a three month pandemic meant just 5 per cent of the Australian population could be treated with the drug.
"I'm sure the population would not forgive their politicians if we were underprepared," he said.
During the last federal budget, the Government set aside $165.5 million to be spent over two years to renew its antiviral stockpile. Much of the government's stockpile had a five year life span and was approaching expiration last year following a major push to increase supplies after the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003.
Mr Cook said he did not expect the latest outbreak would immediately prompt governments to boost their stockpiles, but that it brought the issue to the attention of policy makers.
"These things have always got long lead times. Governments don't spend hundreds of million of dollars instantly. This creates the right scene for the politicians to think about whether they've got this thing properly managed, it helps the bureaucrats who are trying to manage it," he said.
"It ultimately does leave to a revision and an upgrading in the stockpiles and their content, but it's not instant. This isn't `Gosh, I'm thirsty, I'll go and buy a Coke'."
