Early evidence suggests that the cheap, readily available drugs are a potential treatment for virulent influenza strains such as H5N1, which has killed 148 people in Asia.

As existing drugs and vaccines are unlikely to contain a flu pandemic, urgent research is needed into the contribution statins could make, experts say today. Health and medical research bodies, however, are failing to invest in the necessary investigations.

In a letter to The Times, three eminent flu researchers argue that while the effectiveness of statins against flu remains uncertain, the strength of the preliminary evidence and their huge potential advantages make such studies essential.

David Fedson, a retired Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia, who organised the letter, said that the world would need every weapon at its disposal to minimise the impact of a flu pandemic.

The letter is also signed by Susan Chu, editor of the influenza website fluwikie.com, and Peter Dunnill, Professor of Biochemical Engineering at University College London, one of Britain’s foremost experts on flu vaccines.

Statins, Mr Fedson said, are promising candidates for therapy and prevention, as they are known to damp down an extreme immune system response called a cytokine storm, which is often the cause of death in patients who contract virulent forms of flu.

Last week a study of the virus that caused the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic suggested that such an immune overreaction was responsible for many of the 50 million deaths. Statins could potentially control this.

Research funders, however, have failed to show any interest in the idea. Mr Fedson said: “I have been selling this idea for three years, and it has been like beating my head against a brick wall. Faced with a catastrophic pandemic, we have an absolute obligation to investigate this.”

Studies of patients who were already taking statins to lower cholesterol levels, who then contracted pneumonia or bacteraemia, have suggested that the drugs reduce death rates dramatically.

If shown to have an effect, statins would greatly enhance the world’s ability to cope with a pandemic. Generic versions are already mass-produced, making them much cheaper than Tamiflu.

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