Baxter awarded pandemic advanced supply contract for UK
Baxter International's European subsidiary in the UK has entered into an advanced supply agreement with the Department of Health that contains an option to purchase pandemic influenza vaccine in the event the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares a pandemic.
Baxter International's European subsidiary in the UK has entered into an advanced supply agreement with the Department of Health that contains an option to purchase pandemic influenza vaccine in the event the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares a pandemic.
Baxter will manufacture its pandemic vaccine in a serum-free, vero cell-based system at one of the largest cell culture vaccine facilities in the world.
The use of vero cell culture, rather than conventional egg-based technology, offers several advantages. Baxter's vero cell culture process can be initiated more rapidly because it uses a "native" virus that does not need to be modified to allow growth in eggs. Vaccines produced using this process can be released within approximately 12 weeks, significantly earlier than with traditional egg-based systems.
In addition, all influenza strains with pandemic potential tested for growth in vero cells have produced replicable high yields, providing the company with the flexibility to quickly respond to emerging variant pandemic virus strains.
"We are proud to provide the necessary technology, manufacturing capability and other resources to assist the Department of Health in its efforts to protect the UK population from the threat of a flu pandemic," said Kim Bush, president of Baxter's vaccines business.
In 2006, Baxter entered into a pandemic preparedness contract with the Austrian Ministry of Health to supply 16 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine in the event a pandemic is declared.
