WHO meets on production of swine flu vaccine

[Guest guest]

WHO meets on production of swine flu vaccine

By MARIA CHENG and FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Writers Cheng And

Jordans, Associated Press Writers

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090514/ap_on_he_me/med_swine_flu/print

Thu May 14, 5:53 pm ET

GENEVA – As swine flu cases topped 6,600 worldwide, vaccine makers and other

experts met Thursday at the World Health Organization to discuss the tough

decisions that must be made quickly to fight the evolving virus.

Pharmaceutical companies are ready to begin making a swine flu vaccine — but as

the virus may mutate, questions abound: How much should be produced? How will it

be distributed? Who should get it?

The expert group's recommendations will be passed to WHO Director-General

Margaret Chan, who is expected to issue advice to vaccine manufacturers and the

World Health Assembly next week.

WHO's flu chief said the meeting of industry representatives and independent

experts sought to answer questions including when to recommend to manufacturers

that they switch from a seasonal vaccine to one that works against the pandemic

strain.

" No big decisions, no announcements, " Keiji Fukuda told reporters after the

meeting. " These are enormously complicated questions, and they are not something

that anyone can make in a single meeting. "

But some feel the main decision has already been made.

" It's a foregone conclusion, " said Fedson, a vaccines expert and former

professor of medicine at the University of Virginia. " If we don't invest in an

H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, then possibly we could have a reappearance of this

virus in a mild, moderate, or catastrophic form and we would have absolutely

nothing. "

Most flu vaccine companies can only make one vaccine at a time: seasonal flu

vaccine or pandemic vaccine. Production takes months and it is impossible to

switch halfway through if health officials make a mistake.

Vaccine makers can make limited amounts of both seasonal flu vaccine and

pandemic vaccine — though not at the same time — but they cannot make massive

quantities of both because that exceeds manufacturing capacity.

" What is really going to be wrestled with is that seasonal influenza itself has

a significant impact on people, " said Fukuda. " This is an infection which is

estimated to kill some hundreds of thousands of people each year around the

world, so there is a real trade-off if you just say we're going to stop making

that vaccine. "

At the moment, health officials aren't sure how deadly swine flu is, and whether

they will need more seasonal flu vaccine or swine flu vaccine. And if the swine

flu mutates, scientists aren't sure how effective a vaccine made now from the

current strain will remain.

WHO estimates that up to 2 billion doses of swine flu vaccine could be produced

every year, though the first batches wouldn't be available for four to six

months.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently working on a

" seed stock " to make the vaccine, which should be ready in the next couple of

weeks. That will be distributed to manufacturers worldwide so they can start

producing the vaccine.

Until vaccine manufacturers get the seed stock, they won't know how many doses

of vaccine they can make or how long that would take. Sanofi Pasteur, the

world's biggest vaccine producer, said Thursday it is waiting for the green

light from WHO before it starts making swine flu vaccine.

WHO is also negotiating with vaccine producers like GlaxoKline PLC to save

some of their swine flu vaccine for poorer nations. Many rich nations like

Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Switzerland and the United States signed deals

with vaccine makers years ago to guarantee them pandemic vaccines as soon as

they're available.

As of Thursday, at least 33 countries reported more than 6,600 cases of swine

flu worldwide, with 69 deaths. The figures are based on tallies provided by

national governments and WHO. According to the global body's pandemic alert

level, the world is at phase 5 — out of a possible 6 — meaning that a global

outbreak is " imminent. "

" It's a no-brainer, " Fedson said of the decision to make swine flu vaccine. " All

that's being discussed now is the details of how to make sure you have enough

seasonal flu vaccine and the logistics of making the switch to H1N1 vaccine

production. "

While the vaccine question hangs in the air, WHO has given Indian

pharmaceuticals giant Cipla the medical go-ahead to produce a generic version of

the anti-viral medication Tamiflu. The drug, also known as oseltamivir, is one

of two anti-virals shown to work against swine flu.

WHO said Cipla's generic version was as effective as the original made by Swiss

firm Roche Holding AG and would hopefully make the drug more accessible to poor

countries.

North America has been the hardest-hit continent. The United States has reported

3,352 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu, including three deaths. Mexico

has 2,656 cases and 64 deaths, while Canada has 389 cases with one death,

according to WHO figures.

Mexico confirmed 374 more cases Thursday including four more deaths, but Health

Secretary Angel Cordova said the new cases show the virus is appearing less

deadly. Mexico's swine flu deaths now represent 2.4 percent of its confirmed

cases, he said.

Spain and Britain have the most cases in Europe, at 100 and 78 respectively.

In Central America, Costa Rica has eight cases and one death and Panama has 29

cases.