Technical Information

This section is dedicated to technical information about Tamiflu. It details the class of drug that Tamiflu is, and details both how and why it works.

The active ingredient in Tamiflu is oseltamivir phosphate. Oseltamivir phosphate is an antiviral drug that is used in the treatment and prohylaxis of the Influenza viruses A and B.

Oseltamivir is a neuraminidase inhibitor, which means that it inhibits viral particles emerging from cells infected with the flu virus. Thus it limits the spread of the flu virus through the body.

The drug needs to be taken within 2 days of symptoms appearing to be effective. After 2 days, the flu virus will have already spread around the body and so oseltamivir will no longer be effective.