Fw: [NVIC] Flu Vaccine Makers Looking for Bailout

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kathi

03/12/04 14:32:52

news

[NVIC] Flu Vaccine Makers Looking for Bailout

 

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" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982. "

 

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BL Fisher Note:

 

Three quarters of all Americans have historically just said NO THANKS to

getting a flu shot every year. But forced flu vaccination of all Americans

is just

around the corner because vaccine manufacturers don't want to lose any money

on a product few people buy and use. If the pharmaceutical industry gets

what

it wants from Congress, watch for future flu vaccine mandates and societal

sanctions for children and adults who do not comply.

 

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews & storyID=4349534

REUTERS

 

Flu Vaccine Makers Say Gov't Must Increase Demand

Thu Feb 12, 2004 05:56 PM ET

 

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vaccine makers can not guarantee enough future

supplies of flu vaccines unless the government can help ensure

profitability, drug company officials told U.S. Congress on Thursday.

 

Unless the market is expanded -- either by ensuring that more at-risk people

get vaccinations for influenza or simply more people in general, companies

have little incentive for innovation, the executives said.

 

" Raising demand is key to raising supply, " Howard Pien, president and chief

executive officer of Emeryville, Calif.-based Chiron Corp. said.

 

The three companies that make flu vaccines for the U.S. market -- Aventis

SA, Chiron and MedImmune Inc. presented testimony at a meeting of the U.S.

House Government Reform Committee.

 

This year's flu season hit early and was heavily covered by the media,

creating vaccine shortages as people rushed to get flu shots.

 

The shortage also left many officials wondering what would happen if a

severe flu pandemic were to break out, especially as human cases of the

so-called " bird flu " mount in Asia.

 

" The next flu pandemic could be right around the corner, " U.S. Rep. Henry

Waxman (D-Calif.) said at the meeting.

 

But manufacturers said they need steady demand when there isn't a pandemic

in order to have the capacity to quickly increase production during an

emergency -- otherwise they could loose money on unused equipment and doses.

 

MedImmune, which makes the nasal spray flu vaccine called FluMist, said

current approved use for the spray -- individuals ages 5 to 49 -- was too

narrow.

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the vaccine

for children between 6 and 23 months old and adults 65 and older -- two

groups it considers at higher risk for the disease.

 

" A universal recommendation... will in turn provide the impetus on the part

of vaccine manufacturers to increase their production capacity to meet

routine demand, " James Young, president of Research and Development at

MedImmune, said.

 

The Gaithersburg, Md.-based MedImmune also said the past year was one of

" lost opportunities " in which 4 million of 5 million FluMist doses went

unused.

 

" Our very public experience this season will most certainly have a chilling

effect on others who are considering entry into this business, " Young said.

 

FluMist is co-marketed with Wyeth, which gets a share of the drug's profits.

The spray can also cost up to three times as much as a flu shot.

 

Shares of MedImmune closed up 46 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $25.99 on Nasdaq.

Chiron shares fell 44 cents to close at $52.80 on Nasdaq, and Wyeth shares

closed down 14 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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