AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit has won a $90 million contract from the U.S. government to make a vaccine for swine flu, although federal health authorities have not yet decided whether to recommend widespread immunization.
The MedImmune order, which the Gaithersburg, Md.-based biotechnology company announced earlier this week, is part of more than $900 million awarded by the government to produce swine flu vaccine ingredients. MedImmune said the arrangement has the potential for additional orders.
Since first detected in April, there have been 11,054 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States, including 135 in Delaware, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new flu virus has caused 17 deaths nationwide, none in Delaware.
MedImmune scientists have identified several promising swine flu vaccine candidates and are evaluating their effectiveness and potential for mass production, the company said. MedImmune has been working on a potential vaccine since receiving a sample of the swine flu virus, formally known as H1N1, in April.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said in May that it was directing about $1 billion toward clinical studies of potential vaccines and commercial-scale production of vaccine ingredients. The government has awarded contracts worth a combined $842 million to four other vaccine makers.
MedImmune, bought by AstraZeneca in 2007, makes the FluMist vaccine. FluMist, which is administered as a nasal spray, uses a live, weakened version of a flu virus to provoke a response from the immune system; other vaccines use a virus that has been killed.
MedImmune's technology has been licensed only in the United States. Other countries including the U.K., France and Australia are ordering vaccines to protect against a potential swine flu pandemic.
"MedImmune is willing to make additional vaccine available to other governments if any capacity remains after fulfilling obligations to the U.S. government, assuming that necessary regulatory approval can be obtained," the company said.
Additional Facts
BY THE NUMBERS
11,054 confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S.
135 confirmed cases in Delaware
17 deaths nationwide
