Glaxo set to market bird flu vaccine
PHARMA giant GlaxoSmithKline, which has a base at Barnard Castle, said today it had received permission from European medical regulators to market a human bird flu vaccine.
The news bolstered GSK’s share price, which nudged up 4.5 points this morning to 1143.5, following a disappointing end to last year.
The drugs firm won European Union approval for its vaccine designed to protect people against the H5N1 strain of bird flu. The ruling makes Prepandrix the first vaccine to receive a licence for use in the EU.
Other governments, including the US and Switzerland, have already started stockpiling the vaccine.
Up until now, H5N1 has remained primarily a virus affecting birds, but scientists fear it is the most likely next global human pandemic. Since 2003, the virus has been circulating in Asia, Europe and Africa.
GSK said that its Prepandrix vaccine has worked effectively against the different variants of bird flu. Other drug firms, including the French drug company Sanofi Aventis and Swiss Novartis, have also been working on bird flu vaccines, which could be worth $1bn in revenue for the firms.
Last month it was announced that Japan is to become the first country in the world to vaccinate against bird flu, with six thousand health workers and other staff to be inoculated over the next few months.
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