The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7374 p565
5 November 2005

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Probenecid could reduce need for Tamiflu

A report in this week's issue of Nature (2005;438:6) suggests a way in which supplies of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) could be boosted in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Joe Howton, medical director at the Adventist Medical Centre in Portland, Oregon, suggests administering oseltamivir with probenecid to prevent it from being excreted in the urine so quickly. This would mean only half the dose of oseltamivir would be needed to provide a therapeutic effect.

Dr Howton came up with the idea after looking at oseltamivir safety data. He noticed that oseltamivir is actively secreted by the kidneys and that the process is inhibited by probenecid.

“It dawned on me that the data potentially represented a tremendous therapeutic benefit,” he says.

A spokeswoman for Roche, manufacturer of Tamiflu, said that although the idea was interesting, the company could not comment on it because of a lack of data.

The same technique was used during the Second World War to extend penicillin supplies.