Daiichi Sankyo unit will not hit H5N1 vaccine supply deadline

Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) has updated on the H5N1 influenza vaccine project, revealing that its Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine subsidiary will be unable to hit government’s supply deadline.

Daiichi said that, in August 2011, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine was selected for the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's (MHLW) cell culture vaccine production facility capacity building grant, which is a part of the Ministry's second initiative for H5N1 vaccine development and production capacity building. Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine has been preparing to build a system to supply vaccines by the end of March 2014.

After process validation of production at the actual plants, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine recognized in October 2013 that vaccine yields would decline during the purification process. The company considered countermeasures to improve the situation, but it was deemed impossible to achieve the original goal of creating a scheme by March 31, 2014, to supply vaccines for 40 million people in six months. Last week, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine reported this fact and offered countermeasures to the MHLW’s Initiative to build development and production capacity for H5N1 influenza vaccines assessment committee.