Sanofi-Aventis in deal to make 1.4 Million doses of bird Flu Vaccine

The French government has contracted Sanofi-Aventis to make 1.4 million doses of a vaccine for the H5N1 strain of avian flu.

The company said that it is also contracted to produce enough vaccine for 28 million people if a pandemic flu results from the spread of H5N1, and when the virus responsible has been isolated.

Sanofi-Aventis has already begun trials of its own H5N1 vaccine at several labs in France, looking at the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines. It said that the results would be produced by the end of the year.

It said that the contract “is another major step by the company in its support of efforts to prepare the world for the possibility of an influenza pandemic”. The firm is also providing vaccines for the Australian and US governments.

In addition, Sanofi-Aventis is working on projects with US authorities to establish all year round egg production through maintaining laying flocks, and is taking part in FLUPAN, the European agency preparing the continent for a potential pandemic flu.

The news comes after the World Bank warned that the fight against bird flu could cost as much as $1 billion (?573 million) over the next few years.

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