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Oseltamivir was discovered by scientists at Gilead Sciences using shikimic acid as a starting point for synthesis; shikimic acid was originally available only as an extract of Chinese star anise; but by 2006, 30% of the supply was manufactured recombinantly in E. coli. [65] [66] Gilead exclusively licensed their relevant patents to Roche in ...
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend the use of oseltamavir treatment for people at high risk for complications and the elderly and those at lower risk who present within 48 hours of first symptoms of infection. [15] Common side effects include nausea and vomiting.
Neuraminidase has been targeted in structure-based enzyme inhibitor design programmes that have resulted in the production of two drugs, zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Administration of neuraminidase inhibitors is a treatment that limits the severity and spread of viral infections.
The current production method is based on the first scalable synthesis developed by Gilead Sciences [4] starting from naturally occurring quinic acid or shikimic acid.Due to lower yields and the extra steps required (because of the additional dehydration), the quinic acid route was dropped in favour of the one based on shikimic acid, which received further improvements by Hoffmann-La Roche.
Viferon is a suppository of (non-pegylated [12]) interferon alpha-2b, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and tocopherol (vitamin E) which was reported in two small studies to be as effective as arbidol. [13] [14] Another interferon alfa-2b medicine, "Grippferon", nasal drops, is used for treatment and emergency prevention of Influenza and cold. [15]
Oseltamivir (also Tamiflu) is an oral antiviral drug against influenza (flu). It was the second inhibitor of the viral neuraminidase to be developed, after zanamivir, and the first to be taken as an oral tablet. It was originally synthesised from shikimic acid extracted from the star anise plant.
Shikimic acid can also be extracted from the seeds of the sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) fruit, [2] which is abundant in North America, in yields of around 1.5%. For example, 4 kg (8.8 lb) of sweetgum seeds is needed for fourteen packages of Tamiflu. By comparison, star anise has been reported to yield 3% to 7% shikimic acid.
[10] [11] [12] An industrial method for the production of shikimic acid using fermentation of E. coli bacteria was discovered in 2005, [13] [14] and applied in the 2009 swine flu pandemic to address Tamiflu shortages, eventually reversing price increases for star anise as a raw material of shikimic acid. [15]