Influenza Outbreak in America
It is winter in the United States, and there has been a severe outbreak of influenza. New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, with nearly 20,000 cases of flu reported across the state so far this season (compared with 4,400 cases reported in the whole of last season). There has been a widespread public services campaign to encourage people to receive vaccines, and under the emergency order pharmacists in New York will be allowed to administer flu vaccinations to patients between 6 months and 18 years old, temporarily suspending a state law that prohibits pharmacists from administering immunisations to children.
The outbreak is causing mass shortages of influenza vaccines across America. Sanofi, the largest flu vaccine provider in the US, reported on Thursday it had sold out of four of the six different dosages of Fluzone seasonal flu vaccine due to unanticipated late-season demand. A spokesman also claimed that they were unable to produce any more vaccines because they were gearing up for next year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), makers of flu vaccine produced about 135 million doses for this year, and 128 million doses have already been distributed. It is expected that this will be enough if 50 per cent of the population receive vaccinations (historically only 37 percent of Americans get a flu shot each year).
CSL, an Australian-based global leader in influenza vaccines, should have the capacity to respond to this vaccine shortfall. While the company is not the primary distributor of vaccines in America (the CDC recommends Tamiflu and Relenza), the company does distribute to the American market and can produce over 80 million vaccines a year. If the outbreak were to escalate, CSL also holds the contract to supply the US government with vaccines in the event of a global flu pandemic – deaths from the current flu season in America have officially crossed the line into “epidemic” territory, though authorities are hopeful that caseloads are peaking.
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Robert Summers
:
Ben, one small correction – Tamiflu and Relenza are anti-influenza drugs used to treat the disease, not vaccines (which prevent catching/spreading the disease), and therefore are not in direct competition with CSL’s products.
Relenza was developed by another (ex) Australian company, Biota (now BOTA on Nasdaq), who receives licensing fees from Glaxo-Smith-Klein on Relenza sales. Biota also holds a ~$240M contract with the US government to fully develop, manufacture and supply their next-generation anti-influenza drug (which is already approved and in use in Japan).