HHS earmarks $884M for swine flu vaccines

The Department of Health and Human Services will hand out $884 million in funding to buy more ingredients an antigen and an adjuvant for swine flu vaccines. This is in addition to the $1 billion HHS committed to fighting the disease in May.

Novartis will get the bulk of the $884 million. The drugmaker has landed $690.1 million to produce bulk vaccine antigen as well as other ingredients. GlaxoSmithKline is being furnished with $71.4 million for bulk oil and water adjuvant, while Sanofi Pasteur will receive $61.4 million to produce ingredients.

MedImmune will use the technology from its FluMist nasal spray to develop a similar product for the treatment of swine flu, or H1N1. And the U.S. Government is giving the AstraZeneca subsidiary $61 million to fun development of the drug. The contract comes in addition to the $90 million in funding MedImmune received to make the ingredients for an H1N1 vaccine.

- here's the BizJournal report
- read the AP article

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