Second Vaccine Maker Promises Free Swine Flu Shots for Developing World

Vaccine maker sanofi-aventis plans to donate 100 million doses of its A(H1N1) pandemic vaccine, currently in development, to the World Health Organization for use in developing nations that cannot afford to buy it  hemselves. The donation, which came on the heels of a similar move by GlaxoSmithKline, was announced yesterday during the opening session of the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle, Washington.

Christopher Viehbacher pledged that sanofi-aventis will donate 10% of the vaccine it produces to WHO. Robert Sebbag, the company’s vice president for access to medicines, says sanofi-aventis believes it can make at least 800 million doses the 1st year after production starts. That number could be several times higher, however, if the vaccine contains a so-called adjuvant, a compound that amplifies the host’s immune response, meaning that less viral protein is needed per shot. How well the adjuvanted vaccine will work and whether it will receive approval from regulatory authorities remains to be seen.

Read more….