| ■ Chinese Company Plans to Mass Produce Bird Flu Vaccine | 06.09.01 |
| A Chinese vaccine maker says it plans to mass produce a vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 bird flu virus and that it could be producing 20 million vaccines a year within the next few years, according to Chinese state media. Initial tests of the vaccine, developed by Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and government researchers, indicated it was safe. Company officials said this week that the tests found that 120 people who received the vaccine had no serious adverse reactions. "These results indicate that we should expand our production capabilities to prepare for mass production of the vaccine against a possible bird flu pandemic," a Sinovac official told the Xinhua news agency. However, the vaccine must undergo two more clinical trial phases before it can be approved for widespread use. |