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HSE cuts swine flu vaccine order
27 December 2009 By Susan Mitchell
The Health Service Executive has renegotiated orders for one of the swine flu vaccines, resulting in a saving of up to €35 million.
The HSE told pharmaceutical firm Baxter it was cancelling orders for its Celvapan vaccine after December 21. That move means that the HSE will not be taking 3.7million doses of the Celvapan vaccine that it had originally ordered from Baxter.
The HSE had scaled back orders for Celvapan because two doses of the vaccine are required for full protection. Recent studies have shown that most people require a single dose of the Pandemrix vaccine, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The HSE had originally placed orders for 7.7 million vaccines from Baxter and GSK, with a projected cost of about €88 million. It said the move would result in savings of between €25 and €35 million.
Other countries are attempting to renegotiate their contracts with vaccine suppliers.
While contracts between governments and suppliers vary widely, most did not anticipate renegotiations in the event of lower demand, as they were agreed at a time when forecasts suggested demand for vaccines would outstrip supply.
In a research note, investment bank Morgan Stanley said the efforts to return vaccines could hit earnings per share at the pharmaceutical companies.
More than 550,000 people have been vaccinated in Ireland and the overall incidence of swine flu is continuing to decline, according to the HSE. However, there have been 22 deaths in Ireland so far, and Dr Darina O’Flanagan of the Health Protection and Surveillance Centre said there were still high infection rates among young people.
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