Thursday, March 25, 2010

Walmart Supports "Let's Move" Initiative

Earlier today, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the "Let's Move" initiative, calling for better access to and greater affordability of healthy foods for all Americans.

As the nation's largest food retailer, Walmart knows firsthand how important it is to make healthy choices more convenient and more affordable for American families. That is why the company supports the "Let's Move" campaign. For more details on our support of this initiative, please see the attached letter to the First Lady from Leslie Dach, executive vice president of corporate affairs and government relations.

Walmart Pharmacists Prepare and Offer Tamiflu® for Oral Suspension

For Children and Elderly at More Than 4,000 Locations

Bentonville, Ark., Oct. 9, 2009 – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced today that more than 4,000 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies nationwide will address the national shortage of Tamiflu® oral suspension by converting the capsule to liquid form. The FDA-approved process, known as compounding, will ensure Americans have greater access to the well known antiviral drug often prescribed when individuals contract influenza. The liquid form is commonly taken by children, the elderly and those with difficulty swallowing the capsule form.

Due to limited inventories and commercial supplies of Tamiflu® oral suspension, the FDA approved the directions pharmacists use to compound the liquid medication from Tamiflu® capsules. This provides an alternative when the commercially manufactured oral suspension formulation is not readily available.

“We want to assure families and their physicians that our team of pharmacists stands ready to meet the needs of our patients young and old,” said Dr. John Agwunobi, president of Walmart’s health and wellness division. “We have the medication available, and we have pharmacists skilled in compounding oral suspensions.”

Tamiflu® is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat and prevent influenza. Tamiflu® (oseltamivir phosphate) is one of two FDA-approved influenza antiviral drugs that is recommended by CDC for use against the seasonal influenza virus and the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. The liquid form is usually given to children and adults who cannot swallow a capsule.

Comprehensive information from FDA is available at http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/InformationbyDrugClass/ucm100228.htm.