SWITZERLAND TO PURCHASE GSK'S H5N1 VACCINE

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced it has signed a supply with the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health for 8 million doses of GSK's H5N1 antigen influenza vaccine and its proprietary adjuvant for pre-pandemic use. The order provides enough doses, one per head of the entire Swiss population, to help prepare for a human influenza pandemic and is the first national program to do so. Supply and stockpiling of the pre-pandemic vaccine is expected in early 2007 once the Swiss regulatory agency, Swissmedic, has reviewed and approved GSK's regulatory file.

"Our vaccine, which has already demonstrated strong immunogenicity at the lowest dose seen with a split cell vaccine, provides an attractive option for governments currently considering how best to combat the threat of a flu pandemic," Andrew Witty, president of GSK Pharmaceuticals Europe, said.

In the event of an influenza pandemic further immunization with a vaccine made specifically for an actual pandemic would be needed for full protection. To this end the supply contract also provides for an advance purchase agreement for 7.5 million doses of a GSK pandemic vaccine, which would be manufactured once the World Health Organization identifies a pandemic strain.

GSK's H5N1 and pandemic vaccines are administered with a proprietary adjuvant, an extra ingredient in the vaccine formulation designed to increase the immunogenicity of the vaccine and potentially offer protection against variant virus strains.