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A $190 million (£120 million) contract to make swine-flu vaccine has been awarded to Sanofi Pasteur, the world’s largest vaccine maker, by the US government.
It is “the first of what is expected to be a series of orders” from the US, according to the company, which is a unit of the French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis.
It could begin commercial production in June, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certifies working seed viruses produced by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sanofi Pasteur runs vaccine production facilities at Swiftwater in the US and in Val de Reuil in France, and is in talks with other governments worldwide about their vaccine needs.
Copyright Press Association 2009
