EMEA announces measures to combat Tamiflu shortages

The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) has recommended that the shelf life of Swiss drug major Roche's Tamiflu (oseltamivir) should be extended  from five to seven years, to help deal with the outbreak of the  influenza A/H1N1 virus.

The Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has  recommended that Tamiflu capsules that are already on the market may be  used for up to two more years after their current five-year expiry date  during a pandemic of the potentially-fatal flu strain.

Patients who have capsules that have recently expired should not  dispose of them because they might be needed during a pandemic, the  agency noted.