Swine-flu vaccine almost ready, Australian maker says

Jul 22, 2009, 8:40 GMT

   Sydney - Human trials are under way and a world-first swine-flu vaccine could be ready by September, Australian pharmaceutical company CSL Ltd said Wednesday.

   Melbourne-based CSL, part of the international CSL Group, said 240 people would receive the updated Tamiflu vaccine in a trial that has begun in Adelaide.

   CSL research director Andrew Cuthbertson said it would be up to the Australian government when doctors got hold of the vaccine.

   'We'll be supplying other countries, but we would supply Australia with the vaccine [first] and then the rest of the world,' he told reporters in Adelaide.

   Canberra has ordered 21 million doses of the new Tamiflu vaccine - one for each citizen - and Health Minister Nicola Roxon said that 'as soon as I have confirmation that the vaccine is safe and effective, I will ensure it can be rolled out to the community.'

   The vaccine is similar to that available for seasonal flu - the difference being that it would have an anti-viral for the H1N1 swine-flu strain added to the anti-virals for the three existing seasonal flu strains.

   Cuthbertson said there was no evidence swine flu had mutated into anything more virulent.

   Most of those who have died with the swine-flu virus had serious pre-existing medical conditions like cancer and cardiovascular disease. Most of those who have contracted the virus have recovered quickly without medical intervention.

   'So far at least, it doesn't appear to have changed very much, which I guess from the point of view of preparing a vaccine is a good thing,' Cuthbertson said. 'We are really in a constant battle in trying to stay ahead of the evolution of the virus, ... but we are very well-prepared to do that.'

   'What we've developed, I'm pleased to say, is entirely appropriate for the current threat,' he added. '... That is not to say it won't change in the future, but I think so far the vaccine is quite appropriate for the current threat.'

   This week, Roxon said that around 6,000 Australians could die in a worst-case scenario.

   She disputed predictions of 10,000 deaths, saying the number was 'ludicrous' because it presupposed there would be no vaccine or medical intervention for those who had contracted the H1N1 virus.

   'We could expect around 6,000 deaths across the country,' Roxon said. 'That's really the worst-case scenario.'

   Some doctors have said they expected the epidemic to peak in Australia next week.