GlaxoSmithKline furthers vaccine strategy with Canadian acquisition

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has said that the completion of a ?800 million deal to acquire Canadian flu vaccine manufacturer ID Biomedical is “a major step” toward fulfilling its mission of becoming a leading global influenza vaccine manufacturer.

ID Biomedical provides GSK with a significant increase in flu vaccine manufacturing capacity, which will improve GSK’s ability to address both seasonal and pandemic influenza threats.

The combined seasonal flu vaccine production capacity of the newly acquired Canadian facilities and of GSK’s Dresden plant, Germany, is expected to reach around 150 million doses per year by 2010.

The company is on track to become the biggest supplier of flu vaccines, rivalling current market leader Sanofi Pasteur.

In 2004, GSK distributed more than 1.5 billion doses of vaccines to 168 countries in both the developed and developing world, an average of 45 doses per second.

In the next five years, Europe’s largest pharmaceutical firm hopes to launch five major new vaccines in some countries: an HPV vaccine targeting cervical cancer, a vaccine against rotavirus already approved in 23 countries, a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease, an improved flu vaccine for the elderly, and a meningitis combination vaccine for infants in the US.

© Adfero Ltd