Concerns are emerging that governments around the world may have wasted billions of dollars and even put people at risk by stockpiling Tamiflu to treat influenza.

A landmark study published on Wednesday in the Cochrane Library, a collection of databases that publishes high-quality research that helps to inform health-care decisions, found no clear evidence that Tamiflu, the brand name of the drug oseltamivir, prevents the spread of influenza or flu complications and suggested that it could even interfere with the effectiveness of vaccines.

But even more worrisome, according to the authors, is the fact that drug maker Roche continues to hold back valuable data from public scrutiny. They are calling on health regulators to demand access to the unpublished data in order to get the full picture on whether Tamiflu works and is safe.

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