SDI: Rx antivirals are booming due to swine flu outbreak

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. For all the consternation generated around fears of an H1N1 pandemic, sales of prescription antivirals are booming. SDI’s Vector One: National shows that for the week ended May 1, the number of new antiviral prescriptions dispensed at retail pharmacies was 277,196 — more than 19 times higher than the prior week.

“The number of new antiviral prescriptions last week was nearly double that of new antiviral prescriptions during the peak of the 2008-2009 flu season,” SDI noted.

According to SDI’s Sentinel Laboratory Network, which monitors circulating strains of influenza by tracking influenza type, location and patient age groups infected, the peak of this most recent flu season was during the week of March 7. The weeks before and after showed new prescriptions ranging from approximately 150,000 to a high of nearly 155,000 during the week ending Feb. 27.