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Glaxo to donate bird flu shot to global stockpile
13 Jun 2007 14:00:22 GMT
LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to donate 50 million doses of its "pre-pandemic" bird flu vaccine for humans to a global stockpile for distribution in the world's poorest countries.
Europe's biggest drugmaker said on Wednesday it would deliver the vaccine -- enough for 25 million people -- to the World Health Organisation (WHO) over a three-year period.
The company's chief executive, Jean-Pierre Garnier, also urged governments of major European countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain to place orders to secure a supply for their populations.
Glaxo's vaccine, which is made with a proprietary adjuvant, or additive, targets the H5N1 virus that has killed around 190 people among more than 300 known cases since 2003.
While H5N1 remains mainly a virus of birds, scientists say it is the most likely source of the next global flu pandemic in humans, since it may soon mutate into a form that is transmitted easily from person to person.
Garnier said Glaxo's pre-pandemic shot would give "a degree of protection" until a precisely tailored pandemic vaccine could be produced -- a process that is likely to take four to six months from the time a pandemic strain is identified.
Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG and Baxter International Inc. are also working on bird flu vaccines, which industry analysts say represent a $1 billion-plus sales opportunity for firms.
The United States and some smaller countries have already placed orders for national stockpiles but there has been concern that the world's poor could be left without protection.
As a result, the WHO has decided to set up a vaccine stockpile to distribute shots at short notice to poor countries.
Garnier told reporters Glaxo was also ready to sell stocks at preferential prices to the nonprofit GAVI Alliance, which could result in tight global supply.
"GAVI might very well buy significant units for the developing world and, if they come first, we will serve them first," he told reporters in a conference call.
"None of the big (European) countries -- whether it's Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK -- have come forward and made a final determination ... we hope they are going to come to a final decision because at some point we have to apportion our production," he added.
Glaxo's pre-pandemic vaccine has yet to be formally cleared by regulators in the United States and Europe but Garnier said authorities were likely to speed its approval in the event of a global flu crisis.
The product has a shelf-life of three to five years.
13 Jun 2007 14:00:22 GMT
LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline Plc is to donate 50 million doses of its "pre-pandemic" bird flu vaccine for humans to a global stockpile for distribution in the world's poorest countries.
Europe's biggest drugmaker said on Wednesday it would deliver the vaccine -- enough for 25 million people -- to the World Health Organisation (WHO) over a three-year period.
The company's chief executive, Jean-Pierre Garnier, also urged governments of major European countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain to place orders to secure a supply for their populations.
Glaxo's vaccine, which is made with a proprietary adjuvant, or additive, targets the H5N1 virus that has killed around 190 people among more than 300 known cases since 2003.
While H5N1 remains mainly a virus of birds, scientists say it is the most likely source of the next global flu pandemic in humans, since it may soon mutate into a form that is transmitted easily from person to person.
Garnier said Glaxo's pre-pandemic shot would give "a degree of protection" until a precisely tailored pandemic vaccine could be produced -- a process that is likely to take four to six months from the time a pandemic strain is identified.
Sanofi-Aventis SA, Novartis AG and Baxter International Inc. are also working on bird flu vaccines, which industry analysts say represent a $1 billion-plus sales opportunity for firms.
The United States and some smaller countries have already placed orders for national stockpiles but there has been concern that the world's poor could be left without protection.
As a result, the WHO has decided to set up a vaccine stockpile to distribute shots at short notice to poor countries.
Garnier told reporters Glaxo was also ready to sell stocks at preferential prices to the nonprofit GAVI Alliance, which could result in tight global supply.
"GAVI might very well buy significant units for the developing world and, if they come first, we will serve them first," he told reporters in a conference call.
"None of the big (European) countries -- whether it's Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK -- have come forward and made a final determination ... we hope they are going to come to a final decision because at some point we have to apportion our production," he added.
Glaxo's pre-pandemic vaccine has yet to be formally cleared by regulators in the United States and Europe but Garnier said authorities were likely to speed its approval in the event of a global flu crisis.
The product has a shelf-life of three to five years.
