HHS contracts to grow vacc capacity

US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the award of two contracts to expand the country's domestic influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic.

The Department has awarded two cost-reimbursable contracts totaling $132.5 million to Sanofi Pasteur, a subsidiary of the French Sanofi-Aventis group, and US firm MedImmune over five years for the companies to retrofit existing domestic vaccine manufacturing facilities on a cost-sharing basis and to provide "warm-base" operations for manufacturing pandemic influenza vaccines. In warm-base operations, the contractor does not shut down the facility, the DHHS explains.

"We must prepare for a flu pandemic, although it may not be possible to be certain when the next one will come or how severe it will be," said Secretary Leavitt, adding: "these contracts are important advances in the path of preparation because they help the nation build its capacity to respond."