Under the agreement, Baxter will complete delivery of the stockpile to the NHS in 2006.
“We are proud to provide the necessary technology, manufacturing capability and other resources to assist the National Health Service in its efforts to protect individuals from the threat of a flu pandemic,” said Joy Amundson, corporate vice president and president of Baxter’s BioScience business.
Baxter also is working with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop a cell culture-based H5N1 candidate pandemic influenza vaccine.
Baxter will be providing the candidate vaccine to NIAID for clinical testing in the US, which is expected to be initiated in 2006. In addition, Baxter is in discussions with several other governments regarding its candidate pandemic vaccine.