Swine Flu
Every week for three of the last four weeks the death toll from swine flu in Europe doubled. Last week's toll: 84. Story
While children and pregnant women joined long lines to get vaccinated against swine flu last week, it turns out companies like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup were able to jump to the head of the queue, triggering a furious outburst from health care officials and comedians alike. Report
German regulators have approved Novartis' cell-based swine flu vaccine. And the drug giant is hustling for more approvals around the world. "Our modern cell culture technology can enable a faster start-up of vaccine manufacturing, offering the ability to respond more quickly to future pandemic threats," said Andrin Oswald, chief executive of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Story
A small cadre of physicians and nurses in the U.S. is recommending that their patients steer clear of the swine flu vaccine, which may help explain why only a small percentage of U.S. healthcare workers get any kind of flu shot. Article
As more H1N1 vaccine arrives in the U.S., there have been a growing number of reports that the initial frenzy of demand has begun to wane. Story
There were no long lines for swine flu vaccine in the UK, where the country's national health system was able to notify high-risk individuals and set up appointments for a shot. Report
Vaccine Research
Vaccine developer Aduro BioTech raised $2 million for its Series A-1 from a group of individual investors, including senior management. Report
Novavax has begun a Phase IIa clinical study of its trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine candidate in healthy adults 60 years of age or older. Release
GenVec inked a $22 million deal with Science Applications International to develop new HIV and flu vaccines. The contract is worth $22 million if all options are exercised and GenVec gets about $2.6 million over the next year. Report
Benaroya Research Institute has garnered a $7 million contract from the NIH for a five-year study on T-cell response to new and old vaccines. Story
And Finally... The top 12 GMP violations of 2009. Report