France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots

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PARIS
Sun Jan 3, 2010 10:16am EST

France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots

PARIS (Reuters) - France is looking to sell millions of surplus vaccines for the H1N1 flu strain after ordering many more shots than it actually needed, officials said on Sunday.

The Health Ministry said in a statement it had originally bought 94 million individual vaccinations against the H1N1 virus at a cost of 869 million euros ($1.25 billion), thinking that everyone would need two jabs for immunity against the illness.

Doctors now say a single vaccination is sufficient, meaning that France, with a population of some 65 million, has a massive oversupply that it is looking to sell on.

The Health Ministry confirmed reports in Sunday's Le Parisien daily that it had already sold 300,000 shots to Qatar and is set to sell some two million more to Egypt.

"We are in contact with other countries, notably Ukraine and Mexico," the ministry said in a statement, without providing any financial details.

Le Parisen newspaper said France was looking to sell its stock at the price it paid for it -- between 6.25 euros to 10 euros depending on the product.

France bought vaccinations from Sanofi-Pasteur, a unit of Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Baxter International).

Some five million people in France have so far been vaccinated against H1N1, health officials say.

The flu virus has killed an estimated 198 people on mainland France, according to data released on December 29, but doctors have said new infections have fallen sharply in recent weeks.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Louise Ireland)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6020XU20100103

 

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Re: France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots

04 January 2010 - 13H34

France on the defensive over flu vaccine surplus

AFP - The French government fought off Monday criticism that it had poorly planned its swine flu vaccine programme after it bought more doses than needed and announced plans to sell surplus stock.

France bought 94 million doses of the vaccines for the A(H1N1) virus, expecting to provide its population with two doses each, but only five million people have been vaccinated and one dose has been found to be sufficient.

"What would people be saying if the pandemic had been serious?" said Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a trained medical doctor, after several opposition politicians took a swipe at the government.

"We are very happy that this virus turned out to be less virulent than we thought," he said.

The minister cautioned that winter was not yet over and that there could still be a spike in illnesses that would prompt more people to turn up for their shot.

Qatar has bought 300,000 doses and Egypt is negotiating to buy two million, according to the health ministry. France is also in discussions with Mexico and Ukraine to buy some of its stock.

Socialist opposition spokesman Benoit Hamon said the government had provided pharmaceutical companies with a boon and that it was waging a campaign of "fear mongering" to try to liquidate the vaccine stock.

President Nicolas Sarkozy's government is trying to justify the fact that it "paid one billion euros to pharmaceutical companies who are the big winners in this entire affair," said Hamon.

Swine flu has killed at least 12,220 people worldwide with the biggest share of victims in the United States and Canada, though it is now declining in North America, according to the World Health Organisation.

A total of 198 people -- including 24 children under the age of 15 -- have died from the virus in France and its overseas departments, according to health authorities.

http://www.france24.com/en/20100104-france-defensive-over-flu-vaccine-surplus

 

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Re: France wants to sell millions of surplus flu shots

France cuts swine flu vaccine order from Novartis

ZURICH (Reuters) - France has canceled 7 million doses of swine flu vaccine from Novartis, just under half the amount ordered, the Swiss drugmaker said on Friday.

The French government said on Monday it aimed to cancel 50 million of the 94 million doses ordered from Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Baxter International because of over-supply, adding it was discussing the cuts with suppliers.

Demand for the H1N1 pandemic vaccine has been lower than expected across Europe due to skepticism about the need for immunization among the general population and that fact that a single dose, rather than two, is required for immunity.

France had originally ordered 16 million doses from Novartis, company spokesman Eric Althoff said.

"Novartis will evaluate government requests on a case by case basis within the framework of the contractual agreements which we consider binding," he said.

France's decision comes after Germany, Spain and Switzerland also took steps to try to cut deliveries, return unwanted stocks to suppliers or sell them on to other countries due to a low uptake at home.

Novartis last year forecast H1N1 vaccine sales of $400-$700 million in the fourth quarter after booking sales of $17 million in the third quarter.

The group will give an update on figures when it reports its fourth-quarter results on January 26.

Sales of H1N1 vaccines have been a windfall for drugmakers since mid-2009 as governments have built up stockpiles, with Glaxo expected to be the single biggest beneficiary with anticipated sales of some $3.5 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2010, according to industry analysts.

The latest cancellations in Europe could trim those numbers, but there is still strong demand from other parts of the world.

"Apart from (France) there have not been any other firm cancellations. The U.S. is on track for its 2009 order. Novartis has not bought back any vaccines from governments," Althoff said.

"Novartis is still seeing significant worldwide demand for vaccines -- especially from Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, central European countries and some of the former Soviet countries that did not order last summer," he said.

At 1210 GMT, shares in the group were trading 0.9 percent higher, outperforming a near flat European pharmaceuticals sector.

(Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Hans Peters)

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6071WL20100108