《中英對照讀新聞》Researchers, regulators and Roche row over stockpiled drug Tamiflu 研究者、管理單位和羅氏藥廠爭論囤積的克流感效用

◎陳伃軒

Researchers who have fought for years to get full data on Roche’s flu medicine Tamiflu said on Thursday that governments who stockpile it are wasting billions of dollars on a drug whose effectiveness is in doubt.

爭取數年才得到羅氏藥廠的流感藥物「克流感」全部檔案的研究人員週四說，政府部門浪費數十億美元，囤積這種效用受質疑的藥物。

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The row has drawn in the drugmaker as well as industry regulators and independent scientists. Supporters of Tamiflu said the researchers’ conclusions were flawed and insisted the drug is both safe and effective.

藥物製造商、藥品業管理單位和獨立科學家均加入論戰。克流感的支持者說，這些研究者的結論漏洞百出，堅稱該藥安全且有效。

The dispute over the benefits of Tamiflu, blew up with the joint publication by the respected Cochrane Review research network and the British Medical Journal of an analysis of trial data, which found no good evidence behind claims the drugs cut hospital admissions or reduce flu complications.

有關克流感好處的爭論 ，是因備受尊崇的「柯克蘭評鑑」研究網路與「英國醫學期刊」聯合公布的實驗數據分析而起，該分析發現沒有確實證據證實，克流感能減少醫院住院率或減緩流感併發症。

The review’s main findings were that the medicines had few if any beneficial effects, but did have adverse side effects that were previously dismissed or overlooked.

評鑑的主要發現是，該藥的好處不多，卻擁有很多副作用，且早先都不受正視甚或忽略。

"Remember, the idea of a drug is that the benefits should exceed the harms," said Carl Heneghan, one of the lead investigators of the Cochrane review and a professor of evidence-based medicine at Britain’s Oxford University. "So if you can’t find any benefits, that accentuates the harms." （Reuters）

「記住，藥物的意義在於好處應該超過壞處」，柯克蘭評鑑的研究主持人之一、英國牛津大學實證醫學教授漢那翰說，「所以如果你找不到任何好處，就會更凸顯壞處的傷害」。（路透）

新聞辭典

complication：名詞，併發症、複雜。例句：Marry developed complications after the surgery.（瑪莉在手術後產生併發症。）

dismiss：動詞，遣散、不考慮。例句：My company dismissed me for an allegation of theft without any evidence.（我的公司依據毫無證據的偷竊傳聞而遣散我。）

accentuate：動詞，強調。例句：Her new haircut accentuates the specific features in her face.（她的新髮型凸顯她立體的五官。）