Aventis Pasteur plans to transfer- at no cost - samples of its proprietary cell line to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for use in isolating and growing the coronavirus, which is suspected of causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

Aventis Pasteur was contacted by government officials on April 3, requesting assistance in conducting research for a vaccine to protect against SARS. The samples were shipped three business days later.

"Our goal is to help shorten the timeline for SARS research," said David J. Williams, chairman, president and CEO of Aventis Pasteur, the vaccines unit of Aventis. "In the battle against infectious diseases, collaborations between government and industry will help leverage vital resources. Aventis Pasteur focuses on infectious diseases, and therefore, is used to moving quickly to protect human life."

In addition to supporting SARS research, Aventis Pasteur recently entered into an agreement with several WHO reference laboratories (including the CDC, the NIH and the Institute for Biological Standards and Control in the U.K.) to transfer samples of its cell line at no cost for developing a vaccine strain against an avian influenza virus that might help protect against a potential influenza pandemic.

"Once again, Aventis Pasteur is supporting the U.S. government in our efforts to protect our citizens," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. "I personally appreciate the hard work made by Aventis Pasteur employees and the generosity of the company in assisting HHS in our efforts to develop a SARS vaccine."

In March 2002, Aventis Pasteur donated 85 million doses of smallpox vaccine to the U.S. government emergency preparedness stockpile as a short-term safety stock should it become necessary to move to mass immunization prior to new vaccine supplies being available.