Health
Flu vaccine manufacturer to construct new plant
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 7, 2006
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis announced July 18 its intention to build the nation's first cell culture-derived influenza vaccine manufacturing plant in Holly Springs, N.C. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007.
Once completed and approved for commercial production, the site is expected to yield up to 50 million doses of annual trivalent flu vaccine each season. In the event of a pandemic, the site should have a capacity of up to 150 million doses of monovalent vaccine within six months of an outbreak, according to the company.
The plant is expected to cost $600 million, which includes a $220 million grant from the Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Novartis also announced its submission of a cell-culture-derived flu vaccine for approval in Europe. By avoiding reliance on eggs, cell-culture vaccines are expected to be more reliable and require less lead time than the decades-old process that produces the bulk of the nation's annual flu vaccine supply.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/08/07/hlbf0807.htm.
