Flu Shot Maker Says It Will Fall Short On Production
POSTED: 8:46 am PDT June 15, 2005
EMERYVILLE, Calif. -- It may be a case of deja vu when to comes to this year's flu vaccine supply.
Chiron Corp. warned that it will not produce as many flu vaccines as previously announced because of production delays and manufacturing issues. It has slashed its 2005 outlook to reflect the shortfall.
The biotechnology company is one of just a few firms licensed to provide flu vaccine for the United States. Chiron now plans to produce 18 million to 26 million doses of the Fluvirin vaccine for the coming season, down from a previous forecast of 25 million to 30 million doses."While it remains possible that we will reach our previously announced range, the delays and other manufacturing issues have had an adverse impact on our ramp-up to full production, so we are updating our dose expectations and guidance range," Chiron CEO Howard Pien said in a news release.The company didn't sell its Fluvirin product in the United States last season after British regulators shut down the company's Liverpool manufacturing facility. Chiron was slated to provide about half the vaccines for the United States, and the absence of the inoculations sparked a shortage.
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