Vaccines

The Czech Republic will no longer purchase the H1N1 flu vaccine from Baxter International.

Scientists have modified a tobacco plant to produce a vaccine for norovirus, the viral infection sometimes referred to as the "cruise ship virus".

Scientists have modified a tobacco plant to produce a vaccine for norovirus, the viral infection sometimes called the "cruise ship virus."

Baxter International (Deerfield, IL), sanofi aventis (Paris), and Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) provided updates last week of their production and regulatory activities relating to preparedness in supplying the A(H1N1) pandemic influenza vaccine. Novartis also outlined its activities for providing seasonal flu vaccines.

The authors discuss how strategic outsourcing to contract manufacturing organizations that have technical and regulatory expertise can add further value during vaccine development.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week placed an initial order with Sanofi Pasteur (Lyon, France) for a vaccine to fight influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Sanofi-aventis announced this week that it plans to construct a new vaccine-manufacturing center in Neuville-sur-Saône, France.

Covance talks about the risks, challenges, and tests required to develop a pandemic vaccine.

After two years of hearings, more than 5000 pages of expert testimonies, and 939 medical articles, a special federal court ruled that there was little, if any, evidence to support the claim that substances in the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (including the use of thimerosal) had led to the autism of three children.

The US Department of Health and Human Services's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has awarded Novartis a contract valued up to $486 million over eight years to support the design, construction, validation, and licensing of a US cell-based influenza vaccine manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

With economics and politics in the way, can we defeat the malaria epidemic before it defeats us?

Also, Stiefel Laboratories will acquire Barrier Therapeutics, Danube Pharmaceuticals appoints Brian Levy COO, more...

Scientists are giving up on a preventive vaccine for AIDS, but there are lessons to be learned.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have successfully tested a new inhaled tuberculosis (TB) vaccine.

Merck & Co. initiated a voluntary recall of 11 lots of its Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine, Pedvaxhib, and two lots of its combination Haemophilus influenzae type B/ hepatitis B vaccine, Comvax.

Sanofi-aventis entered into an agreement with Chinese authorities allowing Sanofi to construct a vaccine-manufacturing plant in Shenzhen municipality.

Microbix Biosystems has established a team of experts to help manufacturers boost their production of influenza vaccine.

Merck & Co. acquires NovaCardia, Sanofi Pasteur completes vaccine-manufacturing facility, more

Novartis Vaccines plans to produce approximately 40 million doses of its ?Fluvirin? vaccine for distribution in the United States during the 2007?2008 flu season.

Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, a division of Novartis AG (Basel, Switzerland) and IntercellAG (Vienna, Austria), a biotechnology company, will collaborate toward developing a broad range of vaccines.

Washington, DC (June 14)-The US Department of Health and Human Services awarded two contracts totaling $132.5 million to Sanofi Pasteur and MedImmune to retrofit their influenza vaccine manufacturing facilities.

Rockville, MD (May 31)-The US Food and Drug Administration finalized guidances for seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines, outlining the regulatory pathways for developing and approving these products.

Acambis, FDA, Biogen, Ranbaxy, more

Geneva, Switzerland (Apr. 27)-A meeting of the World Health Organization and the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use's approval of Novartis's new cell culture-derived influenza vaccine offered new hope that sufficient numbers of vaccines could be produced in case of a pandemic.

Interphex2007, New York, NY (Apr. 25)-As governments begin to contemplate the possibility of biological terrorism or a pandemic event, a new problem begins to emerge: in the case of a pandemic or an attack, even if a vaccine or treatment exists, how could it be produced in sufficient numbers to prevent the deaths of millions of people? That question was addressed in at the conference session, "Responding to Bioterrorism and Pandemic Events: A Case for Development of Flexible Manufacturing Space for Vaccine Production," at Interphex today.

Lyon, France (Apr. 17)-Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of the Sanofi-Aventis Group, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has licensed its H5N1 vaccine, making it the first avian-influenza vaccine for humans in the United States.

Aventrx, ImmBio, Eli Lilly, more

Cobra, InterMune, Pall, More

Geneva, Switzerland (Feb. 16)-During a two-day meeting, the World Health Organzation announced ?encouraging progress? in the development of a pandemic influenza vaccine but admitted that the industry still ?lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet potential pandemic influenza vaccine demand.?

Washington, DC (Jan. 26)-The US Department of Health and Human Services has granted targeted liability protections for manufacturers of a vaccine to prevent a pandemic of influenza A (H5N1).