New One-Dose Flu Drug Fast-Tracked by the FDA
Prevents the spread of the virus faster that Tamiflu
Health Science
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fast-tracked a one-dose pill that treats the flu. The agency granted priority review to the drug, baloxavir marboxil, and will decide whether to approve it by the end of 2018.
“If approved, the pill would be the first new flu medication to be introduced in the U.S. in years, and the first in 2 decades to take a different approach to treating the flu.” [1]
Dr. David Agus said:
“This is the first drug that actually blocks the production of new virus. So you take it in one pill and it blocks the production of the virus and shortens the duration of the flu. It makes you feel better.” [2]
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported the development of the drug, which has already been approved in Japan.
Baloxavir marboxil works by interfering with a protein inside the flu virus. It shortens flu symptoms by more than a day and stops the flu from spreading in 1 day. By comparison, the most common flu drug, Tamiflu – which comes with potentially deadly side-effects – stops the flu from spreading in 3 days. Also, Tamiflu has 2 doses per day for 5 days, Agus explained. [2]
Read: Read This Before Buying Tamiflu
He added:
“When you look at public health, that’s exactly how you want it. This is a way of really, hopefully stopping the virus in its tracks. You saw entire schools closed for days this year.” [2]
It’s unclear how much baloxavir marboxil would cost in the U.S. In Japan, a single pill costs about $43.
Agus said:
“Certainly we hope to have an answer from the FDA by the end of the year and have this on the market. It’d be a hell of a Christmas present for all of us.” [2]
No word on the potential side effects attached to the new drug – yet.
Sources:
[1] WebMD
[2] CBS News
Note: The featured article article image is not one of baloxavir marboxil.
 | Julie Fidler has written hundreds of articles on key world topics such as health, drugs, and law. She is also the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. Oh, and she loves to take care of two ridiculously- spoiled cats in her free time. |
Who is this Dr. David Agus and who is he speaking on behalf of? He sounds more like a drug rep then a DR. He hopes its on the market by the end of the year, despite “No word on the potential side effects attached to the new drug – yet.” Why no word on the side effects? Aren’t potential side effects to be listed in adverts which this is.
“The US National Institutes of Health supported development of the drug.” Is the NIH a research institute or drug company? Which big Pharma companies are they teaming up with? Will the NIH profit from the sales of this drug?
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fast-tracked a one-dose pill that treats the flu.” So they want to fast track this because entire schools were closed for days this year, (despite mandatory flu vaccines in some states.) Its nice the Dr. doesn’t want students to miss any school, but I would prefer the Dr. be concerned about the potential side-effects (like death from Tamiflu). The hundreds of millions dollars lost by not having it on the market this flu season had no effect on the fast tracking what so-ever.
After reading this advertisement for baloxavir marboxil, apparently the manufacturer is irrelevant as its mentioned nowhere (Genentech), and the minimal benefit as compared to the potential side effects which one must consider the most severe (death ie: Tamiflu) I’ll stay home in bed and rest an extra day and skip this drug.