Flu Vaccine Production to Double by 2015

Global production of seasonal flu vaccine is expected to double to 1.7 billion doses by 2015, with 11 new manufacturers expected in developing countries, according to the World Health Organization. This means that if a new influenza pandemic occurs, the world’s projected 37 vaccine makers could potentially triple their annual production of trivalent seasonal vaccine to make 5.4 billion doses of pandemic vaccine. However, the actual amount would depend on the yield of the virus grown in the egg, which was low for the H1N1 pandemic, as well as on how much adjuvant (which stretches the active ingredient) is used in the pandemic vaccine. GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi are among the major producers of influenza vaccine.