Sanofi-Aventis To Give Pandemic Flu Vaccine To WHO

LINDA A. JOHNSON

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) — French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis plans to donate millions of doses of swine flu vaccine to the World Health Organization for use in poor countries, Chief Executive Christopher Viehbacher said Wednesday.

Viehbacher said his company is making a "flexible donation" of a total of 100 million doses of vaccines against swine flu and bird flu.

The company had committed last June to donating 60 million doses of pandemic vaccine to protect people against the bird flu virus, a type designated as H5N1 influenza.

Speaking at the Pacific Health Summit, a meeting of global officials in science, industry, medicine, policy and public health in Seattle, Viehbacher said he wants to support the request of World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan for common action in fighting the swine flu pandemic.

"Exceptional times require exceptional responses. We need to act responsibly, and we all have to play our part," he said in a statement.

Viehbacher said that once his company starts production of vaccine against swine flu, or H1N1 flu, it will reserve 10 percent of its output for the WHO to help fight the flu pandemic in developing countries.