Sanofi pasteur delivers more H5N1 vaccine for U.S. government pandemic initiatives

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, Feb. 6 - sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis group, said Monday that it has delivered more H5N1 vaccine to the U.S. government, including investigational doses formulated with an adjuvant.

sanofi pasteur has shipped to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, 15,000 investigational doses of a vaccine to protect against the H5N1 influenza strain, according to a company news release.

Prepared with different levels of antigen, the investigational doses will be used in the National Institutes of Health's clinical studies to determine the optimal formulation of the vaccine, officials said.

The investigational doses include the use of the adjuvant aluminum hydroxide that could increase the vaccine's effectiveness and enable the use of less antigen in each dose. The end result could be a greater number of doses available to immunize more people, officials said.

The company also said it has completed production of additional bulk-concentrate of the H5N1 vaccine antigen for the U.S. government stockpile.

Once the optimal dosage is established, the bulk-concentrate antigen will be ready for final formulation and filling into doses, officials said.

The additional H5N1 bulk-concentrate vaccine represents a broadening of a contract the company signed in September with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to produce a stockpile of the H5N1 vaccine valued at $100 million, officials said.

The additional bulk concentrate vaccine just produced is valued at $50 million and will support U.S. Department of Defense requirements.

These activities are further examples of sanofi pasteur's commitment to global pandemic preparedness. The H5N1 viral strain has been identified by global health authorities as being a potential cause of a pandemic.

The bulk-concentrate and the investigational doses were produced at sanofi pasteur's U.S. site in Swiftwater, Pa.

sanofi-aventis, based in Lyon, France, is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical company, developing leading positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular disease, thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system, internal medicine and vaccines.

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