CSL to Start Making Swine Flu Vaccine Next Week for Human Tests


By Simeon Bennett

May 26 (Bloomberg) -- CSL Ltd., the Southern Hemisphere’s only flu-vaccine maker, said it plans to start producing a swine flu inoculation next week for testing on humans.

The company plans to make doses of the experimental vaccine using a strain of the H1N1 virus from a patient in California, Rachel David, a spokeswoman for Melbourne-based CSL, said by phone today.

CSL has a contract with the Australian government to supply 90 percent of its vaccine orders in the event of a pandemic. A government order, which David said CSL has yet to receive, may generate about A$100 million ($78 million) in sales, according to estimates last week by Andrew Goodsall and Dan Hurren, Sydney-based health-care analysts at UBS AG.

CSL’s tests on ferrets are “still in progress,” David said, declining to provide details. “We will be starting production of a batch for clinical purposes next week.”

The drugmaker expects the first batch of its swine flu vaccine to be available in late July or early August, CSL said on its Web site.

Australia has 31 confirmed cases of swine flu and expects that number to rise, Health Minister Nicola Roxon told reporters in Canberra today. The federal government on May 22 updated its pandemic alert to “contain,” the third-highest level. The next level, “sustain,” means the virus is established and spreading.

The number of infections worldwide stood at 12,515 in 46 countries, including 91 deaths, according to the World Health Organization’s latest available tally.

To contact the reporter on this story: Simeon Bennett in Singapore at sbennett9@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 26, 2009 03:19 EDT