WHO grant to develop vaccine for deadly flu

The WHO yesterday approved a grant to help the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) to produce a vaccine to prevent a deadly flu, GPO director Dr Vitthit Attavejchakul said.

The grant will be used to continue GPO activities to pro¬duce a seasonal influenza vac¬cine and potential pandemic vaccine by developing the capacity of a pilot plant at Silpakorn University's Faculty of Pharmacy. Staff there will study preclinical and clinical research.

Vitthit spoke at a signing cer¬emony for Thailand's Proposal for a second WHO Influenza Vaccine Production Grant and Conference on Pandemic Influenza Vaccine.

The grant was apart of the Global Vaccine Action Plan to increase the supply of a vaccine for a possible pandemic and reduce the gap between poten¬tial vaccine demand and supply anticipated if the event of an influenza pandemic.

Thailand was one of six countries around the world that will receive WHO grants to pro¬duce influenza vaccine. The others are India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil and Mexico.

This will be the second WHO grant to help the GPO develop an influenza vaccine to try to stop a possible pandemic.

An initial grant of Bt68 mil¬lion was provided last year to develop "infrastructure" for vaccine research and develop¬ment, especially preparing the site for the vaccine plant.

An achievement from the first grant was a prototype of vaccine now being tested for safety in a clinical trial.

WHO expected Thailand could develop its own technol¬ogy to produce an influenza vac¬cine to prevent a pandemic in its local area and that it would provide the vaccine to neigh¬bouring countries, Dr Marie Paule Kieny, director of WHO's Initiative for Vaccine Research, said.

A new GPO plant to produce flu vaccine is being built in Saraburi's Tab Kwang district but it won't be finished till 2012. It is expected to produce up to 60 million doses per day when the plant is operational.

Vitthit said the price for the vaccine would be reduced from about Bt600 per dose to Bt170.

The WHO has warned that Thailand could face up to 65,000 deaths in the event of a pandemic in which between 150,000 and 600,000 people were infected.