Professor Sir Michael Rawlins has said that Relenza, Glaxo Wellcome's treatment for influenza, should be available from pharmacies.
Speaking at a meeting of the All-Party Pharmacy Group on April 4, Sir Michael, who is chairman of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, said: "There should be much greater scope for people to be able to treat themselves with or without a doctor. Relenza is exactly the sort of thing you should be able to get from a pharmacy without going near a doctor."
He added that he had suggested to Glaxo that it might ask for Relenza to be licensed as a pharmacy medicine from the outset.