Roche launches child-friendly flu drug in China

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced the launch of its innovative influenza drug Baloxavir Marboxil in the China market at an event in Shanghai on Thursday. 

Specially designed for children, the strawberry-flavored medicine can be accurately administered by parents according to the child's weight. Also, a patient needs to take the medicine only once during the entire course of the disease, said the company.

Pediatricians said such a new therapy will help overcome some long-standing problems for parents in administering drugs to their children, including the difficulty of measuring the dosage and the poor compliance with medication due to unpleasant flavor.

Medical experts said that influenza is a severe, acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses. Children are a high-risk group for influenza, with infection rates reaching up to 50 percent during peak epidemic seasons. The highest infection rates are observed among children aged 5 to 9.

Zeng Mei, a professor in the department of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Fudan University, said that compared to adults, children with influenza typically experience a longer course of illness and take more time to expel the virus from their bodies. This often leads to transmission of the virus in schools, classrooms, and families.

"To take the medicine within 48 hours after the advent of the disease is proven to effectively shorten the course of illness and the duration of fever. It can also shorten the time for the patients' bodies to expel the virus," said Zeng.

"Such a therapy does not only help the patient individuals as they can return to normal life and study earlier, but also has public health values as it reduces the spread of the virus," she said.