Sinovac's H5N1 flu vacc cleared in China

Sinovac Biotech, a China-based drugmaker focusing on human vaccines, says that its pandemic influenza H5N1 whole-viron inactivated vaccine, has been granted a production license by the China State Food and Drug Administration. Panflu is the first and only approved vaccine available in China against the pandemic strain of influenza virus. The product is approved for the Chinese national vaccine stockpiling program and will not be sold directly to the market. The license also indicates that the Chinese government has the exclusive right to initiate Panflu vaccinations in an emergency or in the event of an influenza pandemic.