Vaccines could be produced in less than 10 weeks from first isolation of the RNA sequence by using insect cell derived influenza VLPs, according to research which has implications for H1N1 and H5N1.
Sinovac’s recently opened vaccine filling and packaging facility in Beijing, China has received SFDA GMP certification, which the firm says will increase production capacity to around 40m doses a year.
Pandemic influenza vaccine manufacturing technology will be made available to developing countries through a collaboration between the WHO and Schering-Plough.
Within Obama’s $819bn economic stimulus package are numerous provisions relevant to the pharmaceutical industry, including funding to construct or renovate private manufacturing facilities.
Drug giants Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have been awarded
contracts with the US government to develop adjuvant technology for
pandemic influenza, to potentially increase the number of doses to
be distributed among US citizens.