At Health Blog HQ, we can’t even get a burrito for six bucks. But that’s all it will cost to supposedly guarantee a supply of Roche’s drug Tamiflu if the next big flu pandemic breaks out.

The fortunes of the drug have risen and fallen lately on fears of a global flu pandemic. A while back, when worries about the H5N1 strain of bird flu were running high, Roche cranked up production of the antiflu drug.

But now that worries have subsided, demand has fallen. World-wide sales for the quarter ended in March were down 64% from the year-earlier period, to 278 million Swiss francs ($269 million), the WSJ reports.

So, in a move that could generate a bit more revenue off the drug, the company said yesterday that companies can reserve a supply of Tamiflu for $6 per worker per year. The notion is a sort of virtual stockpile: Buying in to the program guarantees you a shipment of the drug on two days’ notice.

Of course, companies will still have to pay for the drug itself if and when they want it. It currently wholesales for about $75 per 10-capsule pack, and retails for about $82, the WSJ says.

Photo: Associated Press

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