GSK ‘prepared to cooperate with Japanese pharma firms’

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced that it is prepared to collaborate with Japanese pharmaceutical companies – on the condition that the government in Japan consents to stockpiling its pre-pandemic vaccine for avian influenza.

The Associated Press notes that vaccine manufacturers in Japan are government-affiliated with poor funding and research capabilities, while its restrictive market conditions make it difficult to import vaccines from abroad.

Jean Stephenne, president of GSK Biologicals, told the press at a news conference in Tokyo: “We are in contact with all the local vaccine manufacturers and the Japanese government to discuss the need to prepare for a possible bird flu outbreak among humans.”

In May 2007, GSK expressed its support for the World Wealth Organisation relating to its commitment to provide vulnerable people across the globe with access to protection in the event of a global influenza pandemic.

Earlier this year the company reported that administration of its own candidate vaccine for H5N1 (avian flu) had exhibited a robust cross-immune neutralising antibody response, indicating potential benefits to the general public in the event of a global pandemic.

In January 2007, GSK reported that the filing for its innovative H5N1 split antigen pre-pandemic influenza vaccine had been accepted for review by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.