Sanofi Pasteur tops flu vaccine production

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines unit of leading French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis, has completed production of more than 170 million doses of influenza vaccine in 2006, confirming its leadership as one of the world's largest manufacturers of seasonal influenza vaccine, as it represents a very significant portion of the estimated global production of about 350 million doses.

As the global influenza vaccine leader, the firm has been steadily its manufacturing capacity. Since 2003, this has grown more than 40% in line with the company's commitment to serve a central role in the fight against a disease that causes between three and five million cases of severe illness and between 300,000 and 500,000 estimated deaths every year around the world, according to the Word Health Organization. In 2005, Sanofi Pasteur initiated a $160.0 million investment in the USA for a new influenza vaccine manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to double its US production capacity. New production capacities are planned to come on line for the next flu season.