ROCHE SOLICITS PRIVATE BUSINESSES TO STOCKPILE TAMIFLU

Swiss drugmaker Roche has launched a campaign in the U.S. urging businesses to stockpile its antiviral drug Tamiflu, despite a backlog of orders from world governments building emergency caches for the public as a hedge against a deadly flu pandemic.

With only a fraction of the doses needed for a U.S. government stockpile on hand, the prospect that private companies could build their own reserves of Tamiflu has upset some American disaster planners who believe the public interest should come first.

Included in Roche's plan for businesses are suggestions for distributing packs of the pills to employees for storage at home, despite explicit state and federal policies discouraging personal stockpiling of the drug.

Roche contends that criticism of the sales to businesses is misplaced. Efforts to boost production have paid off, and there will be enough of the drug for everyone who orders it, the company said. Business customers pay full price for the drug, while the federal government buys at a steep discount.