Sergio Sismondo is an advisor on a podcast series for , which generally covers issues about science in the public interest, and is focusing on stories relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first in this series is , which tells the story of an antiviral drug, Tamiflu, from its days as middling flu treatment through its meteoric rise to international blockbuster. How do experts decide what makes a good drug, and how do pharmaceutical companies make billions from pandemic panic? We don鈥檛 know what will happen with COVID-19 drug research. But the story of past pandemics might give us a clue. To prepare for Swine Flu and Bird Flu, governments spent billions stockpiling a drug called Tamiflu. You would think governments used the best evidence-based advice, but the story of Tamiflu raises questions about how money shaped the process.
Separately, Sismondo was also interviewed for another Cited Podcast episode, , on how the pharmaceutical industry shapes medical knowledge.