Baxter International's European subsidiary and Chiron Corporation has received a contract from the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom to produce a stockpile of two million doses of candidate H5N1 influenza vaccine based on an avian strain. The two companies will supply 3.5 million doses H5NI bird flu vaccine worth 33 million pounds as a part of an effort to prepare for and reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic.

Under the agreement, Baxter will complete delivery of the stockpile to the NHS in 2006. Baxter also is working with the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop a cell culture-based H5N1 candidate pandemic influenza vaccine. Baxter will be providing the candidate vaccine to NIAID for clinical testing in the United States, which is expected to be initiated in 2006, states the company release.

Under the UK contract, Chiron has agreed to supply the British government with H5N1 avian influenza vaccine containing Chiron's MF59 adjuvant. The company will produce vaccine for this stockpile at its manufacturing facilities in Italy.

"We are proud to provide the necessary technology, manufacturing capability and other resources to assist the National Health Service in its efforts to protect individuals from the threat of a flu pandemic," said Joy Amundson, corporate vice president and president of Baxter's bioscience business.