In 2006, allegedly responsible health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization in Geneva began warning of the imminent onset of an avian flu pandemic of lethal proportions. The pandemic never materialized, but sales of Tamiflu, touted as effective in reducing complications of flu such as bronchitis and pneumonia, skyrocketed. In 2009 it was again presented as the drug of choice to stave off swine flu.
In 2006, Dr. Tom Jefferson released an analysis concluding that the drug was effective. But when another physician pointed out that 8 of the 10 studies he had relied on were unpublished, Jefferson decided to seek out the raw data -- only to find he was unable to do so. His concern turned to outrage when two employees of a communications company admitted to him that they had been paid to ghostwrite some of the studies, with explicit instructions to come to the “correct” conclusion regarding Tamiflu’s effectiveness.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
"After reanalyzing the raw data finally made available (they still don't have it all) ... there was no proof that Tamiflu reduced serious flu complications like pneumonia or death. In short, it appears the pharmaceutical companies had been ... conning the public on matters of health”.