Drugmaker GSK says making 'rapid progress' on swine flu vaccine

EPIDEMICS

Sacked GSK workers called back to make swine flu drug
GlaxoSmithKline's French branch said Wednesday it has called back 160 laid-off workers to produce millions of doses of a swine flu anti-viral for Japan and other export markets. The British pharmaceutical giant, which recently slashed 700 of 2,000 jobs at its laboratory in Evreux, northwest of Paris, called the workers back to help it cope with orders for 18 million doses of the Relenza drug. "We appealed for volunteers and 160 workers said yes," said GSK's French head of communications, Jean-Yves Lecoq. The firm has also hired 70 temp workers to produce the giant order. GlaxoSmithKline has moved in recent months to boost production of Relenza, one of two anti-virals considered effective in fighting A (H1N1) influenza along with Tamiflu, made by its rival Roche. The workers' contracts have been extended until early next year, when the layoff plan will go ahead, Lecoq said, explaining that the spike in demand for Relenza was considered a one-off event.

First case in Americas of drug-resistant swine flu: reports
Health officials in Canada have identified a case of swine flu that has proved resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, media reports said Wednesday. The case was detected in a Quebec man in his 60s, who had been taking a smaller-than-recommended dose of the drug before coming in contact with his son, who was ill with the virus, The Journal de Quebec and other local newspapers reported. The elderly patient, who also suffers from chronic bronchitis, presumably already had become infected with the A(H1N1) virus while taking the Tamiflu medication -- which any rate was administered in doses too small to ward off the virus. Doctors called the revelation "disquieting" proof of the virus's ability to evolve quickly, and noted a handful of similar drug-resistant swine flu cases that have cropped up elsewhere. "This would be the first case to our knowledge of Tamiflu resistance in swine fly in North America," said Guy Boivin, a physician at the Laval University Medical Center in Quebec, noting cases of drug resistance in Denmark, Japan and Hong Kong.

by Staff Writers
London (AFP) July 22, 2009
British pharmaceuticals group GlaxoSmithKline is making "rapid progress" on producing a swine flu vaccine that will be ready by September, it said Wednesday.

GSK also revealed in a second-quarter results statement that it had received contracts for 195 million doses of A(H1N1) vaccine, adding that it would triple production of its Relenza medication by the end of the year.

"Following more than 10 years of investment in research and development of pandemic influenza vaccines, and the successful registration of its pre-pandemic H5N1 vaccine, the company is making rapid progress to produce an A(H1N1)" vaccine Glaxo said in a statement.

"GSK has also significantly increased production levels of its anti-viral influenza treatment Relenza and developed an innovative respirator mask, designed to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne influenza virus."

It added: "So far, GSK has received orders for 195 million doses of the vaccine and first supplies of the vaccine will be available to governments from September onwards.

"Shipments are expected in both 2009 and 2010 and the pace of delivery will be dependant on capacity and the yield of the influenza strain."

Glaxo would increase production of oral spray Relenza to 190 million doses per year by the end of 2009, it added. Relenza is an alternative to the Tamiflu tablets that are manufactured by Swiss rival Roche.

Neither drug cured swine flu but they are being used to reduce the impact of the virus. They are being stockpiled by governments around the world in preparation for a sharp rises in cases during autumn and winter.

GlaxoSmithKline also revealed Wednesday that net profits soared 11.6 percent to 1.461 billion pounds (1.689 billion euros, 2.401 billion dollars) in the three months to June 30, compared with the same period of last year.

Revenues meanwhile advanced 15 percent to 6.75 billion pounds in the reporting period.

"During the quarter, we saw the emergence of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza as a global pandemic threat," said Chief Executive Andrew Witty in the results statement.

"GSK has made substantial investments of more than 2.0 billion dollars to develop and manufacture vaccines and treatments for influenza.

"Since the outbreak of the virus, we have committed additional investment to increase production levels of Relenza and effectively develop a new adjuvanted H1N1 vaccine," he said.

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EPIDEMICS

Australia, US And China Start Vaccine Trials As Flu Toll Mounts
Sydney (AFP) July 22, 2009
Australia on Wednesday began human trials for a swine flu vaccine, lending new urgency to global efforts to curb the pandemic after the death toll worldwide leapt past 700. As the trials started, Thailand's death toll reached 44 to overtake Australia's as the biggest in the Asia-Pacific region. In Latin America, Chile's toll jumped from 40 to 68. The human trials at Australia's Royal Ade ... read more

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