INTERVIEW-Sanofi says on target to honor H1N1 vaccine orders
Friday August 21, 2009 05:02:18 PM GMT
SANOFI-VACCINES/(INTERVIEW)
* Expects to send U.S. H1N1 vaccine in Oct-flu specialist
* Says will fill French contract on time
* U.S. vaccine to be sent in bulk
* Says virus strength stable
By Noelle Mennella
PARIS, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Sanofi-Aventis, the world leader in flu immunisation, said on Friday it was reasonably comfortable it would be able honour its contract to supply H1N1 swine flu vaccines to the United States in October.
Albert Garcia, an epidemiologist and flu vaccine specialist who acts as the company's spokesman, told Reuters in an interview that the company would also fill France's order of doses between November and early December, as planned.
The French drug maker's vaccine unit Sanofi Pasteur has a $250 million contract to provide the U.S. with the swine flu antigen in bulk.
The number of doses the U.S. will get will depend on the vaccine's formula, which will be determined by clinical trials expected to end in October.
"The United States wanted doses as of September. We are reasonably expecting to deliver in October doses in bulk, not in ready-to-use form," Garcia said in a telephone interview.
"At that time (in October), we will be able to determine the formula and obtain the necessary authorisations to sell on the market."
Governments have been putting pressure on drugs groups to come up with effective vaccines against swine flu in months, rather than years.
Sales of vaccines to contain the swine flu pandemic are expected to provide a windfall for the global drugs industry, generating billions of dollars of extra revenues at the end of this year and next, analysts have predicted.
Sanofi-Aventuis and other drugs groups, including U.S.-based Baxter, Britain's GSK and Switzerland's Novartis have been racing since June to meet orders from various countries.
GOVERNMENT PRESSURE
The World Health Organisation gave pharmaceutical groups the virus strain at the end of May. Since then, they have been using chicken eggs to cultivate the vaccine's active agents, the antigen that will enable patients to develop antibodies.
"Governments are putting pressure on us so that we deliver the doses as early as possible but cannot go faster than the wind," Garcia said.
Last week, U.S. authorities cut the amount of swine flu vaccines they expected to use as part of an immunisation campaign scheduled for this autumn.
Sanofi Pasteur's renewable contract with France is for 28 million doses.
Asked if the swine flu virus could mutate, which would render ineffective the vaccines currently being prepared, Garcia said:
"All flu viruses mutate and this happens very slowly. The H1N1 virus is being monitored. For the moment, it is continuing to progress but its virulence is still what it was a few weeks ago."
France is the world's leading producer of vaccines. The global vaccine market is estimated to be worth 10 billion euros in annual revenues, of which France makes up 570 million euros. (Writing by Astrid Wendlandt; editing by Karen Foster)
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Associated Press: WHO: No Tamiflu for healthy people with swine flu
The Associated Press: WHO: No Tamiflu for healthy people with swine flu: "WHO: No Tamiflu for healthy people with swine flu
(AP) – 1 hour ago
LONDON — The World Health Organization says healthy people who catch swine flu don't need antiviral drugs like Tamiflu.
In new advice issued to health officials on Friday, the U.N. agency said doctors don't need to give Tamiflu to healthy people who have mild to moderate cases of swine flu.
WHO said the drug should definitely be used to treat people in risk groups who get the virus. That includes children less than five years old, pregnant women, people over age 65 and those with other health problems like heart disease, HIV or diabetes.
The new advice contradicts government policies such as those in Britain, which has been giving out Tamiflu to all people suspected of having swine flu.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved."
(AP) – 1 hour ago
LONDON — The World Health Organization says healthy people who catch swine flu don't need antiviral drugs like Tamiflu.
In new advice issued to health officials on Friday, the U.N. agency said doctors don't need to give Tamiflu to healthy people who have mild to moderate cases of swine flu.
WHO said the drug should definitely be used to treat people in risk groups who get the virus. That includes children less than five years old, pregnant women, people over age 65 and those with other health problems like heart disease, HIV or diabetes.
The new advice contradicts government policies such as those in Britain, which has been giving out Tamiflu to all people suspected of having swine flu.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved."
NST Online MMA explains why some hospitals turn away H1N1 patients
NST Online MMA explains why some hospitals turn away H1N1 patients
MMA explains why some hospitals turn away H1N1 patients
2009/08/21
KUALA LUMPUR, Fri: Private clinics and hospitals are ever ready to treat people suspected to be suffering from Influenza A(H1N1) and will only turn away such patients if they lack adequate medical facilities, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said today.
MMA president Dr David Quek Kwang Leng said he did not believe that private clinics or hospitals would turn away suspected Influenza A(H1N1) patients for any other reason.
He made this clarification to Bernama when commenting on a statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai yesterday that some private clinics and hospitals were reluctant to treat such patients and had referred them to government clinics or hospitals instead.
Dr Quek said H1N1 patients who sought treatment in private clinics or hospitals would have been referred to government hospitals later for a number of reasons.
"The private clinics or hospitals may not have adequate facilities, they may not be skilled in treating such cases or the patients may have serious complications. In some cases, the patients themselves may have asked to be transferred to government hospitals due to the higher cost of treatment at private hospitals," he said.
Earlier, in an e-mailed statement, Dr Quek said smaller private medical centres might not be adequately staffed or equipped to handle more seriously ill respiratory failure patients.
"But this is also the situation in some smaller district hospitals of the public sector. Furthermore, some of these gravely ill patients would not survive despite the most aggressive treatment strategies, under any circumstances," he said.
Dr Quek also said that private doctors were currently working hard with the Health Ministry to curb the disease although some of them and their clinic staff have become infected.
"But, thankfully, so far we have not received any news of more serious consequences such as death. So, private doctors are also exposed to this threat but continue to look after their patients, including those with flu-like illnesses," he added.
Commenting on claims by some private clinics that they did not receive any guidelines on how to deal with H1N1, Dr Quek said they could check the Health Ministry and MMA websites for updates.
"We have been disseminating information to all our doctor members the best way we can so that collectively we can help ameliorate the more serious consequences of this pandemic," he said.
The MMA is to organise a National Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic Influenza Conference on Sept 12 to help disseminate and share more scientific and practical up-to-date information on H1N1.
On the antiviral drug to treat H1N1 which can be obtained at all clinic or hospital networks participating in the Influenza A(H1N1) preventive and treatment clinic, Dr Quek asked for adequate supply to be provided.
"The supply (of the antiviral drug) is not adequate. If you order 20 packets, you may only get 10 because the government has to distribute the drug to various places," he said. -- BERNAMA
MMA explains why some hospitals turn away H1N1 patients
2009/08/21
KUALA LUMPUR, Fri: Private clinics and hospitals are ever ready to treat people suspected to be suffering from Influenza A(H1N1) and will only turn away such patients if they lack adequate medical facilities, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said today.
MMA president Dr David Quek Kwang Leng said he did not believe that private clinics or hospitals would turn away suspected Influenza A(H1N1) patients for any other reason.
He made this clarification to Bernama when commenting on a statement by Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai yesterday that some private clinics and hospitals were reluctant to treat such patients and had referred them to government clinics or hospitals instead.
Dr Quek said H1N1 patients who sought treatment in private clinics or hospitals would have been referred to government hospitals later for a number of reasons.
"The private clinics or hospitals may not have adequate facilities, they may not be skilled in treating such cases or the patients may have serious complications. In some cases, the patients themselves may have asked to be transferred to government hospitals due to the higher cost of treatment at private hospitals," he said.
Earlier, in an e-mailed statement, Dr Quek said smaller private medical centres might not be adequately staffed or equipped to handle more seriously ill respiratory failure patients.
"But this is also the situation in some smaller district hospitals of the public sector. Furthermore, some of these gravely ill patients would not survive despite the most aggressive treatment strategies, under any circumstances," he said.
Dr Quek also said that private doctors were currently working hard with the Health Ministry to curb the disease although some of them and their clinic staff have become infected.
"But, thankfully, so far we have not received any news of more serious consequences such as death. So, private doctors are also exposed to this threat but continue to look after their patients, including those with flu-like illnesses," he added.
Commenting on claims by some private clinics that they did not receive any guidelines on how to deal with H1N1, Dr Quek said they could check the Health Ministry and MMA websites for updates.
"We have been disseminating information to all our doctor members the best way we can so that collectively we can help ameliorate the more serious consequences of this pandemic," he said.
The MMA is to organise a National Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic Influenza Conference on Sept 12 to help disseminate and share more scientific and practical up-to-date information on H1N1.
On the antiviral drug to treat H1N1 which can be obtained at all clinic or hospital networks participating in the Influenza A(H1N1) preventive and treatment clinic, Dr Quek asked for adequate supply to be provided.
"The supply (of the antiviral drug) is not adequate. If you order 20 packets, you may only get 10 because the government has to distribute the drug to various places," he said. -- BERNAMA
WHO Predicts 'Explosion' of Swine Flu Case
WHO Predicts 'Explosion' of Swine Flu Case: "WHO Predicts 'Explosion'
of Swine Flu
Updated: Friday, 21 Aug 2009, 5:36 AM MDT
Published : Friday, 21 Aug 2009, 5:32 AM MDT
By The Associated Press
BEIJING - The World Health Organization is urging nations to speed up their preparations for swine flu.
A WHO official warns there may soon be 'an explosion' in cases until peak transmission of the flu is reached. He says that means most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days -- for several months.
He says governments must act quickly to educate the public and prepare their health systems to care for severe cases. He says the swine flu strain poses the greatest threat in developing nations, with underequipped and underfunded health systems.
The swine flu strain has killed almost 1,800 people worldwide. WHO predicts that as many as 2 billion people could become infected in the next two years — nearly one-third of the world's population. The world health group has declared the situation a pandemic.
The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year."
of Swine Flu
Updated: Friday, 21 Aug 2009, 5:36 AM MDT
Published : Friday, 21 Aug 2009, 5:32 AM MDT
By The Associated Press
BEIJING - The World Health Organization is urging nations to speed up their preparations for swine flu.
A WHO official warns there may soon be 'an explosion' in cases until peak transmission of the flu is reached. He says that means most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days -- for several months.
He says governments must act quickly to educate the public and prepare their health systems to care for severe cases. He says the swine flu strain poses the greatest threat in developing nations, with underequipped and underfunded health systems.
The swine flu strain has killed almost 1,800 people worldwide. WHO predicts that as many as 2 billion people could become infected in the next two years — nearly one-third of the world's population. The world health group has declared the situation a pandemic.
The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year."
In India, swine flu panic spreads faster than virus
In India, swine flu panic spreads faster than virus
RAVI NESSMAN,Associated Press Writer
Friday, August 21, 2009
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — The streets of the western city of Pune were half-empty, schools in Mumbai were ordered closed, and people suffering aches flooded hospitals across the country as India confronted dueling outbreaks of swine flu and swine flu panic.Twenty people have died from the flu here, according to government numbers available Friday, and 1,283 have been confirmed infected in this nation of 1.2 billion people. But fear of the flu has outpaced the virus itself."The amount of frenzy or hysteria is totally disproportionate to the overall reality of the disease," Dr. Jai Narain, the head of the regional communicable disease office for the World Health Organization, said Friday.Breathless reports of swine flu have dominated India's 24-hour news channels desperate for stories amid the August doldrums. That in turn has helped whip the public into a frenzy, even in cities with relatively few cases of flu.In New Delhi, where no deaths have been reported, people have begun wearing surgical masks in the street. In Lucknow, parents demanded their children be tested."Over 1,000 people lined up at different hospitals. ... Eleven of them tested positive," Dr. R.R. Bharati, a top health official in the northern city of Lucknow said earlier this week.In Mumbai, the country's financial capital, the government closed all schools and movie theaters, hammering the Bollywood film industry over the long Independence Day holiday weekend. The government also asked malls in Mumbai to tone down their traditional holiday sales to keep away crowds.The nearby city of Pune is India's worst affected, with 12 of the country's 20 deaths.There, the streets were half-empty, the usual crowds shunned the shopping malls and many workers stopped showing up at offices. With schools closed, worried parents kept their children shut inside.Many who did venture out wore surgical masks, despite a shortage that sent the price of a single mask skyrocketing from 5 rupees (10 cents) to 150 rupees ($3)."The situation in Pune is alarming considering the number of ... positive cases and deaths. We are augmenting the resources in the city to handle the situation. However, we appeal to people not to panic," said Chandrakant Dalvi, a city official.In response to the outbreak, India's government has set up testing centers around the country and plans to increase its stock of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to 30 million doses, the government said. But officials have also asked people to stop wearing surgical masks in the street unless they or a family member are infected."I cannot see anything to panic about," said Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil, a professor of epidemiology at Christian Medical College in Vellore. "These kinds of rumors are not good for the health of the nation."The fatality rate from the virus is relatively low, though scientists worry it could eventually mutate into a more deadly strain, he said.Yet the flu has garnered far more attention than India's raft of other health problems, including tuberculosis, which kills nearly 1,000 Indians every day, according to World Health Organization figures.In Pune, more than 11,000 people lined up to be tested for the swine flu virus Thursday and 73 tested positive, Mahesh Zagade, a city official, told reporters."I think we are suffering a psychological disorder. We keep asking each other if we feel sick, cold, have a body ache, fever or breathlessness," said a 25-year-old man waiting to be tested in Pune who identified himself as Aditya. "I called up my doctor this morning and told him that I felt like I was suffocating."The entire staff at one pharmacy donned gloves and masks after hearing a pharmacist was among those killed by the virus."We were planning to shut down, but we know we can't do that because people here need medicine," said Anand Agarwal, the 42-year-old pharmacist.According to the World Health Organization, there were 177,457 cases of swine flu and 1,462 deaths across the world as of August 12.After more than a week of feverish coverage of India's outbreak, some news organizations are now counseling calm."Stop the panic," urged the Hindustan Times.
___Associated Press writers Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow and Jeeja Purohit in Pune contributed to this report.
RAVI NESSMAN,Associated Press Writer
Friday, August 21, 2009
NEW DELHI, India (AP) — The streets of the western city of Pune were half-empty, schools in Mumbai were ordered closed, and people suffering aches flooded hospitals across the country as India confronted dueling outbreaks of swine flu and swine flu panic.Twenty people have died from the flu here, according to government numbers available Friday, and 1,283 have been confirmed infected in this nation of 1.2 billion people. But fear of the flu has outpaced the virus itself."The amount of frenzy or hysteria is totally disproportionate to the overall reality of the disease," Dr. Jai Narain, the head of the regional communicable disease office for the World Health Organization, said Friday.Breathless reports of swine flu have dominated India's 24-hour news channels desperate for stories amid the August doldrums. That in turn has helped whip the public into a frenzy, even in cities with relatively few cases of flu.In New Delhi, where no deaths have been reported, people have begun wearing surgical masks in the street. In Lucknow, parents demanded their children be tested."Over 1,000 people lined up at different hospitals. ... Eleven of them tested positive," Dr. R.R. Bharati, a top health official in the northern city of Lucknow said earlier this week.In Mumbai, the country's financial capital, the government closed all schools and movie theaters, hammering the Bollywood film industry over the long Independence Day holiday weekend. The government also asked malls in Mumbai to tone down their traditional holiday sales to keep away crowds.The nearby city of Pune is India's worst affected, with 12 of the country's 20 deaths.There, the streets were half-empty, the usual crowds shunned the shopping malls and many workers stopped showing up at offices. With schools closed, worried parents kept their children shut inside.Many who did venture out wore surgical masks, despite a shortage that sent the price of a single mask skyrocketing from 5 rupees (10 cents) to 150 rupees ($3)."The situation in Pune is alarming considering the number of ... positive cases and deaths. We are augmenting the resources in the city to handle the situation. However, we appeal to people not to panic," said Chandrakant Dalvi, a city official.In response to the outbreak, India's government has set up testing centers around the country and plans to increase its stock of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to 30 million doses, the government said. But officials have also asked people to stop wearing surgical masks in the street unless they or a family member are infected."I cannot see anything to panic about," said Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil, a professor of epidemiology at Christian Medical College in Vellore. "These kinds of rumors are not good for the health of the nation."The fatality rate from the virus is relatively low, though scientists worry it could eventually mutate into a more deadly strain, he said.Yet the flu has garnered far more attention than India's raft of other health problems, including tuberculosis, which kills nearly 1,000 Indians every day, according to World Health Organization figures.In Pune, more than 11,000 people lined up to be tested for the swine flu virus Thursday and 73 tested positive, Mahesh Zagade, a city official, told reporters."I think we are suffering a psychological disorder. We keep asking each other if we feel sick, cold, have a body ache, fever or breathlessness," said a 25-year-old man waiting to be tested in Pune who identified himself as Aditya. "I called up my doctor this morning and told him that I felt like I was suffocating."The entire staff at one pharmacy donned gloves and masks after hearing a pharmacist was among those killed by the virus."We were planning to shut down, but we know we can't do that because people here need medicine," said Anand Agarwal, the 42-year-old pharmacist.According to the World Health Organization, there were 177,457 cases of swine flu and 1,462 deaths across the world as of August 12.After more than a week of feverish coverage of India's outbreak, some news organizations are now counseling calm."Stop the panic," urged the Hindustan Times.
___Associated Press writers Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow and Jeeja Purohit in Pune contributed to this report.
FOXNews.com - U.S. to Start Testing H1N1 Vaccines in Kids - Infectious Disease
FOXNews.com - U.S. to Start Testing H1N1 Vaccines in Kids - Infectious Disease: "Data from tests on adults show it is safe to start trying out the new H1N1 swine flu vaccine in children, U.S. officials said.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it would soon start two trials of Sanofi-Aventis' vaccine in children aged 6 months to 17 years old.
'The safety monitoring committee reviewed data from more than 500 healthy adult and elderly volunteers enrolled in three ... trials of candidate H1N1 vaccines that began Aug. 7, 2009,' the NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.
'The committee found no safety concerns in those trials that would preclude trials from proceeding in children,' it added.
One trial will enroll up to 650 children aged six months to 17 years in six U.S. cities who will get either a large or small dose of H1N1 vaccine in two shots three weeks apart.
A second trial will give children Sanofi's H1N1 vaccine before, after or at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine.
Five companies are making both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines for the U.S. market — AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit, CSL, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Novartis AG and Sanofi.
HHS says 45 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine will be on hand in mid-October, when mass vaccination is planned.
Because it takes months to make a vaccine and because the autumn flu season is looming, companies are making and testing the new vaccine at the same time as U.S. officials plan to start vaccinating.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is licensing the new influenza vaccine as if it were just a typical annual change in formulation done every year as the seasonal flu vaccine changes to match the drift, or slight mutations, in the circulating viruses.
Last month, the Advisory Comm"
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it would soon start two trials of Sanofi-Aventis' vaccine in children aged 6 months to 17 years old.
'The safety monitoring committee reviewed data from more than 500 healthy adult and elderly volunteers enrolled in three ... trials of candidate H1N1 vaccines that began Aug. 7, 2009,' the NIAID, part of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement.
'The committee found no safety concerns in those trials that would preclude trials from proceeding in children,' it added.
One trial will enroll up to 650 children aged six months to 17 years in six U.S. cities who will get either a large or small dose of H1N1 vaccine in two shots three weeks apart.
A second trial will give children Sanofi's H1N1 vaccine before, after or at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine.
Five companies are making both seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines for the U.S. market — AstraZeneca's MedImmune unit, CSL, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Novartis AG and Sanofi.
HHS says 45 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine will be on hand in mid-October, when mass vaccination is planned.
Because it takes months to make a vaccine and because the autumn flu season is looming, companies are making and testing the new vaccine at the same time as U.S. officials plan to start vaccinating.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is licensing the new influenza vaccine as if it were just a typical annual change in formulation done every year as the seasonal flu vaccine changes to match the drift, or slight mutations, in the circulating viruses.
Last month, the Advisory Comm"
Flu fighters battle pandemic online | Reuters.com
Flu fighters battle pandemic online Reuters.com:
Flu fighters battle pandemic online
Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:46pm EDT
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The world is gripped by a flu pandemic and it's up to you to stop it -- that is, if you choose to play a new game developed by a Dutch medical center and available online for free.
The Great Flu (www.thegreatflu.com) allows players to choose their viral adversary, pick the part of the world it spreads in and then control how to manage the outbreak given a limited amount of funds and medications.
The game was developed by the Erasmus University Medical Center, in Rotterdam, and launched in April, the same month the H1N1 swine flu virus emerged.
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 a full pandemic in June and it has now spread to some 180 countries, causing at least 1,462 laboratory-confirmed deaths.
Earlier this year, another, humorous online game based on the virus, called Swinefighter (www.swinefighter.com), also allowed players to beat the spread of H1N1.
(Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests."
Flu fighters battle pandemic online
Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:46pm EDT
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The world is gripped by a flu pandemic and it's up to you to stop it -- that is, if you choose to play a new game developed by a Dutch medical center and available online for free.
The Great Flu (www.thegreatflu.com) allows players to choose their viral adversary, pick the part of the world it spreads in and then control how to manage the outbreak given a limited amount of funds and medications.
The game was developed by the Erasmus University Medical Center, in Rotterdam, and launched in April, the same month the H1N1 swine flu virus emerged.
The World Health Organization declared H1N1 a full pandemic in June and it has now spread to some 180 countries, causing at least 1,462 laboratory-confirmed deaths.
Earlier this year, another, humorous online game based on the virus, called Swinefighter (www.swinefighter.com), also allowed players to beat the spread of H1N1.
(Writing by Miral Fahmy; Editing by Alex Richardson)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. Users may download and print extracts of content from this website for their own personal and non-commercial use only. Republication or redistribution of Thomson Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters and its logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of the Thomson Reuters group of companies around the world.
Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests."
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