Companies to Make Smallpox Vaccine
Associated Press;
Recer, Paul
[10/24/2001]
In response to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's request for 250 million additional doses of the vaccine against smallpox before 2003, many drug companies have suggested that they would like to help, but the process would be expedited if the government were willing to waive some federal regulations on production. The difficulty is that no American firm has made smallpox vaccine since the 1980s, as the disease was officially eradicated in the 1970s and there was no need for the vaccine, so production facilities are not quite configured for the vaccine's production. A number of top companies--including GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis, Baxter, American Home Products, and Merck--have acknowledged the interest from the U.S. government but have yet to make final decisions on the product.
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