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The new drug, sold as Xofluza, is about as effective as Tamiflu in shortening the symptoms of the flu and is expected to work against drug-resistant strains.
The first new influenza drug for 20 years was approved Wednesday by the Food and Drug Administration.
The new antiviral, known under the generic name of baloxavir marboxil but sold under the brand name Xofluza, is a single-dose treatment. It is intended for use only in 12 years and older, the F.D.A. said, and should be taken only in the first two days after the onset of symptoms such as fever, body aches and sniffles.
The pill will cost $ 150, according to a spokeswoman for Genentech, which will sell Xofluza in that country. Genentech will offer coupons that will reduce the price to $ 30 for patients with health insurance and about $ 90 for uninsured.
The flu season has already begun and last year, one of the deadliest in decades; Nearly 80,000 Americans have died of influenza or its consequences, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said earlier. month.
The new drug is not a miracle cure and it is not approved for young children, who are one of the most vulnerable groups, so the C.D.C. always strongly recommends that all Americans over the age of six months get the flu shot as soon as possible.
There are several other anti-flu medications, the best known of which is oseltamivir, sold under the name Tamiflu, but none will cure the disease quickly.
In addition, the influenza virus mutates very rapidly and has split into several strains that circulate simultaneously each winter, and many have developed resistance to older drugs.
"Safe and effective alternative treatments are essential," said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, Director of the F.D.A. Commissioner, in a report. "This new drug provides an important additional treatment option."
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Xofluza works in a new way by blocking an enzyme that the virus needs to copy itself. Thus, at least in theory, circulating influenza strains that are resistant to previous drugs should not resist.
It has been shown to work against both strains A and B, which circulate annually, and against influenza of dangerous birds that can infect humans, such as strains A of H5N1 and A H7N9.
However, it is almost inevitable that resistance to Xofluza will evolve as more and more people use it. (To avoid this, doctors treat several diseases, including HV and tuberculosis, with cocktails of three or four different drugs, but this is not the norm for the treatment of influenza.)
Xofluza was invented by Shionogi, a Japanese company that also created the Crestor statin.
It does not cure the flu as quickly as, for example, antibiotics eliminate sensitive bacterial infections. But it could relieve some symptoms and shorten the time patients feel sick, "said Dr. Debra Birnkrant, director of antiviral products for F.D.A.
Xofluza was approved after two clinical trials in 1,832 patients. In both trials, those treated with this drug recovered faster than those who received placebo. In one trial, there was no difference between Xofluza and Tamiflu.
Tamiflu, sold by Roche, Genentech's parent company, is now available at a great price as a generic medicine. It takes two tablets a day for five days.
The most common side effects of Xofluza were diarrhea and bronchitis, F.D.A. I said.
Additional research is underway to determine if it is safe and effective in children and it reduces hospitalization rates and deaths.
Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a science journalist covering the epidemics and diseases of the world's poor. He joined the Times in 1976 and reported on 60 countries.
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