Swine flu drug sales soar amid stockpiling

Sales of the flu drug Relenza shot up 1,900 per cent from a year ago as governments around the world stockpiled in preparation for a swine flu pandemic, drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said today, according to a report on www.edition.cnn.com.



Relenza sales were $60 million pounds ($98.4 million) in the second quarter of this year, compared to $3 million pounds ($4.9 million) in the same quarter last year, the company said.



Glaxo also said that by the end of the year, it expects to have an annual production capacity for Relenza of $190 million treatment courses, more than a threefold increase to its previously announced maximum capacity.



Relenza is an antiviral medication similar to Tamiflu that treats symptoms of the flu and helps to prevent getting it.



GlaxoSmithKline started production last month of a vaccine for swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus, the company said.



It is now on track to meet the orders placed by many governments and the World Health Organization for the vaccine, Glaxo said.



\"To date we have contracts in place to supply 195 million doses of the vaccine,\" Chief Executive Andrew Witty said. \"We also have a variety of agreements in place with the U.S. government to supply pandemic products worth $250 million. Discussions with over 50 governments are ongoing, with many at advanced stages, and I therefore expect further significant orders. Shipments are expected in the second half of 2009 and early 2010.\"



Glaxo will donate supplies of both the swine flu vaccine and Relenza to the WHO for use in developing countries, he said.



Australian company CSL announced this week it planned to start the first human trials of a swine flu vaccine in Australia.



Participants will receive two shots three weeks apart and will undergo blood tests to determine if they are generating an appropriate immune response to the virus, the company said.