Contract Award For Purchase Of H5N1 Vaccine, UK Department Of Health

Health Minister, Rosie Winterton today announced the award of
contracts to Baxter and Chiron for supplies of around 3.5 million
doses of H5N1 vaccine. The announcement was made as EU Health
Ministers attended a special meeting in Vienna to take stock of
recent events and discuss coordination action at European level.


The contracts are worth Ј33 million and are part of the work to
prepare for and reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic. The
vaccine will be used to carry out further research and could also be
used to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers before a specific
pandemic vaccine can be developed.


Health Minister, Rosie Winterton said:


"We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously
and as the WHO and a recent Lords Science and Technology Committee
has recognised the UK is among the best prepared countries in the
world. But, we are not complacent and recognise that more work needs
to be done in order to make the country as fully prepared as possible
to meet the threat.


"Today we have announced our intention to award the contract for the
supply of around 3.5 million doses of H5N1 vaccine. Building a
stockpile will allow us to carry out more research and could be
offered as a possible first line of defence for NHS workers whilst
the exact vaccine to match the pandemic flu strain is manufactured.
This is in addition to placing sleeping contracts for 120 million
doses of pandemic vaccine, which will ensure access to the vaccine
once it is developed".


The vaccine is scheduled for delivery in May and October 2006.


1. The tendering exercise was conducted in accordance with the EU
procurement regulations. Five tenders were received and these were
assessed against pre-determined criteria. The tender bids from Baxter
and Chiron were judged to best meet all the required criteria
including technical and scientific requirements as well as providing
the best value for money.


2. The Influenza Pandemic Contingency plan, together with some
explanatory documents, are published on the Department of Health
website at dh.uk.