Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Doubts over China's one-dose flu vaccine
Mary Ann Benitez
Friday, September 11, 2009
On the eve of the deadline for the submission of tenders for the HK$700 million contract to supply the SAR with a vaccine against the pandemic swine flu (H1N1) virus, doubts have emerged about the efficacy and safety of one of the leading bidders.
The vaccine from China's Nasdaq-listed Sinovac Biotech (also known in China as Beijing Kexing Bioproducts), is the only one that has not been trialed in the West but is the first in the world to be registered by its own regulatory agency, the State Food and Drug Administration.
The Department of Health's scientific committees are expected to meet and decide on the winning bid next week. The original tender was canceled late last month after the government claimed none of the bidders met its requirements.
Director of Health Lam Ping-yan told The Standard that his delegation's visit to Sinovac on Tuesday was "a fact-finding trip" designed to understand more about the new vaccine. But a leading flu expert, who asked not to be named, said: "The first one to make a swine flu vaccine is not necessarily the best one."
He questioned why Sinovac used a one-shot dose which would only be good for up to three months.
David Hui Sui-cheong, a specialist in respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said yesterday the most worrying aspect of the swine flu vaccine is the potential side effect of Guillaine Barre nervous disease.
A 1976 mass inoculation in the US against a swine flu outbreak led to 500 developing the disease, with several deaths.
"For any new vaccine for a brand new virus, you would wait six months to see if there are any side effects.
"But if you are running short of time, you have to make a decision: it takes at least three months after injection for any nervous disease or any unusual side effects to emerge," Hui said.
Infectious disease specialist Lo Wing-lok said: "We should worry about the system of drug regulations in the mainland."
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?sid=25326296&art_id=87668&con_type=1&pp_cat=11
Mary Ann Benitez
Friday, September 11, 2009
On the eve of the deadline for the submission of tenders for the HK$700 million contract to supply the SAR with a vaccine against the pandemic swine flu (H1N1) virus, doubts have emerged about the efficacy and safety of one of the leading bidders.
The vaccine from China's Nasdaq-listed Sinovac Biotech (also known in China as Beijing Kexing Bioproducts), is the only one that has not been trialed in the West but is the first in the world to be registered by its own regulatory agency, the State Food and Drug Administration.
The Department of Health's scientific committees are expected to meet and decide on the winning bid next week. The original tender was canceled late last month after the government claimed none of the bidders met its requirements.
Director of Health Lam Ping-yan told The Standard that his delegation's visit to Sinovac on Tuesday was "a fact-finding trip" designed to understand more about the new vaccine. But a leading flu expert, who asked not to be named, said: "The first one to make a swine flu vaccine is not necessarily the best one."
He questioned why Sinovac used a one-shot dose which would only be good for up to three months.
David Hui Sui-cheong, a specialist in respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said yesterday the most worrying aspect of the swine flu vaccine is the potential side effect of Guillaine Barre nervous disease.
A 1976 mass inoculation in the US against a swine flu outbreak led to 500 developing the disease, with several deaths.
"For any new vaccine for a brand new virus, you would wait six months to see if there are any side effects.
"But if you are running short of time, you have to make a decision: it takes at least three months after injection for any nervous disease or any unusual side effects to emerge," Hui said.
Infectious disease specialist Lo Wing-lok said: "We should worry about the system of drug regulations in the mainland."
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?sid=25326296&art_id=87668&con_type=1&pp_cat=11