Pharmaceutical companies around the world are hard at work to develop a vaccine that minimizes or eliminates a person’s chance of getting the H1N1 swine flu now sweeping the globe in pandemic proportion. For some of these drug companies, the expected bottom line is driving the research frenzy but two major players have agreed to donate substantial quantities of their vaccines to the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in the world’s poorest companies. According to the chief executive officer of one of them, “We all have to play our part.”
Chris Viehbacher, CEO for Sanofi-Aventis SA, based in Paris, France, says his company will donate 100 million doses of the flu vaccine as soon as the vaccine reaches the production phase. According to Viehbacher, Sanofi has allocated a 10% output reserve for the WHO. He further states playing its part means more than just getting the vaccines only to countries wealthy enough to pay for them, especially in the midst of pandemic illness.
GlaxoSmithKline PC (GSK) will also donate some of the vaccine it’s developing to the WHO, according to company spokesperson, Stephen Rea. Rea says GSK plans to donate 50 million doses.
These announcements of donated vaccine come on the heels of an announcement made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis AG, in which the company said it would not be donating any vaccine. Company spokesperson Eric Althoff said donated vaccines won’t effectively address need during time of pandemic but the company is exploring pricing strategies and other measures to allow ample access.
In response to the Novartis announcement, Sanofi’s Viehbacher agreed that donations aren’t sustainable and can’t be relied upon in the long term but he acknowledged the exceptional situations created during pandemic. Saying pandemics are not on-going events and the company is determined to do what it can to help, Viehbacher said the company’s proposed donations to the WHO will not affect its profit margin. Sanofi is considering a policy of tiered pricing in developing countries where its drug manufacturing facilities are completely committed to H1N1 vaccine production.
In a press briefing last week, WHO director-general, Margaret Chan, called on the world’s wealthiest nations to help ensure the vaccine is accessible in even the poorest nations. The agency declared pandemic on June 11 and urged pharmaceutical companies to begin vaccine production.
There are 35,928 confirmed cases of the H1N1 swine flu in the world today, according to WHO data. Swine flu is now in 76 countries and 163 deaths have been officially attributed to it. Health officials are keeping close watch on the virus as it spreads during the Southern Hemisphere winter season. Flu viruses are usually most active during the coolest months of the year and public health officials are concerned the virus may mutate into a more virulent strain that causes more severe symptoms than the current strain causes.
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