SANOFI PASTEUR BEGINS SHIPPING INFLUENZA VACCINE

Sanofi pasteur, a subsidiary of French drugmaker sanofi-aventis, has begun shipping its influenza vaccine, Fluzone, to the U.S. for the 2006-2007 flu season. The company expects to ship approximately 50 million doses. Additionally, sanofi pasteur expects to supply approximately half of the world's seasonal influenza vaccines this year.

As in past years, the company will use a split-delivery process so that all customers will receive at least a partial delivery of their orders by the end of September. Although this shipping process is more time consuming and costly for the company, it has been recognized as key to equally distributing doses and facilitating the immunization of priority patients.

Shipments will continue through December. The influenza season lasts from October through April, with February typically being the period of most intense disease activity, according to the company.

Fluzone is the only influenza vaccine approved for children as young as 6 months old. In 2004, sanofi pasteur introduced a new Fluzone vaccine formulation that does not contain any preservatives. It is the first FDA-approved injectable influenza vaccine to be manufactured in this way.