# 2108
The United States government is encouraging (but not mandating) that the private sector consider stockpiling antivirals for health care, and other critical infrastructure employees in anticipation of an influenza pandemic.
The following decision chart comes from the Proposed Considerations for Antiviral Drug Stockpiling by Employers In Preparation for an Influenza Pandemic released earlier this month by the HHS.
Roche Laboratories, the manufacturer of the antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir), has put together a program that they hope will eliminate some of the obstacles preventing private companies from stockpiling the drug in case of a pandemic.
Called RAPP, or the Roche Antiviral Protection Program, this new initiative was unveiled today in a joint telebriefing with the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) and Roche Laboratories.
Present on the Teleconference were :
· Bill Hall, news director for the HHS
· George Abercrombie, president and CEO, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.
· Mike McGuire, vice president of anti-infectives, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.
· Tevi D. Troy, deputy secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
· Bruce Gellin, M.D., director, National Vaccine Program Office; chair, Task Force on Influenza Preparedness, HHS
· Robin Robinson, HHS
Under the RAPP plan, companies can arrange to `reserve' stockpiles of Tamiflu, to be held by Roche and delivered on demand, for a yearly fee.
This fee, $6 per 10-pill-course, would not apply to the purchase price of the drug - it would only reserve it for purchase when needed at whatever is the `current wholesale price'.
Companies would still need to arrange in advance to have doctors examine employees and write prescriptions for the medications. Roche believes that the antiviral can be shipped to just about anywhere within 48 hours of placing an order.
The big advantages to this program would seem to the the assurance that companies won't end up stuck with expired antivirals, and eliminating the need for businesses to properly store and protect a stockpile.
It also eliminates a big up-front expenditure. Companies can decide each year whether to renew or opt out of the plan.
While announced jointly by the HHS and Roche, this is strictly a Roche initiative. The HHS openly applauds this program, but is not directly involved with it.
For now, Roche is limiting applicants to those who will order 2500 courses or more, although they stated in the telebriefing that they are interested in dealing with companies of all sizes to prepare for a pandemic.
Currently, this program is only available in the United States, but Roche has plans to expand it globally.
While the focus of this teleconference was to launch the RAPP program, Deputy Director Troy of the HHS also said a few words about the need for all sectors ("all households, all businesses") to prepare for a pandemic.
He encouraged local governments, businesses, and individuals to share in the responsibility for planning for a pandemic.
We also learned that the deadline for states to participate in the Federal government's subsidized antiviral purchase plan has been extended to the end of the year.
Roche laboratories maintains a website with decision making tools for businesses to help them analyze their antiviral needs.
It is located at www.pandemictoolkit.com
