QUOTE
Jakarta cuts deal on bird flu vaccine
Email Print Normal font Large font Mark Forbes, Jakarta
February 8, 2007
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AdvertisementINDONESIA has an exclusive deal with an American pharmaceutical giant to develop a bird flu vaccine, prompting concerns that international disease control efforts will be harmed by restricting access to bird flu samples.
Yesterday's announcement follows Indonesia's condemnation of an Australian research breakthrough that could result in a vaccine being produced in months.
Indonesia is refusing to provide bird flu samples to other countries, companies and the World Health Organisation. Scientists and the WHO are expressing serious concerns about the ban, saying it hampers efforts to avoid a pandemic.
Until now, countries have shared virus samples with the WHO, which provides them to vaccine manufacturers.
But Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari has claimed Indonesia "owns" the bird flu strain that has infected tens of millions of chickens and killed more than 60 people.
When Australian drug manufacturer CSL last week announced it had developed a vaccine against the H5N1 strain of the virus, Indonesia expressed alarm. The Health Ministry said the Indonesian samples used by CSL were obtained illegally.
Mrs Supari yesterday indicated she might sue Australia for compensation and that virus samples could only be shared under a trade agreement. She denied hampering research but said virus samples would not be provided for commercial purposes.
Announcing the agreement with Baxter pharmaceuticals, Mrs Supari refused to say if Indonesia would take steps to stop the development of the Australian vaccine.
Indonesia and other underdeveloped countries are concerned that virus samples are used to produce vaccines they cannot afford to buy.
"This is not fair," Mrs Supari said. "Small countries are always badly treated. I don't want our country to be treated like that."
Baxter vaccine unit head Kim Bush said he was not involved in preventing the sharing of virus samples. The decision was the responsibility of the Indonesian Government and outside the new agreement, he said.
The deal will give Indonesia the right to produce and market any resulting vaccines.
The strains of the H5N1 virus circulating in Indonesia are considered crucial to developing new vaccines and to help map mutations in the virus.
Email Print Normal font Large font Mark Forbes, Jakarta
February 8, 2007
Other related coverage
Bird flu vaccine on way
ROBERT GLASSER Remember the bird flu threat? It hasn't gone away
Bird flu update
Britain fears bird flu has arrived to stay
Advertisement
AdvertisementINDONESIA has an exclusive deal with an American pharmaceutical giant to develop a bird flu vaccine, prompting concerns that international disease control efforts will be harmed by restricting access to bird flu samples.
Yesterday's announcement follows Indonesia's condemnation of an Australian research breakthrough that could result in a vaccine being produced in months.
Indonesia is refusing to provide bird flu samples to other countries, companies and the World Health Organisation. Scientists and the WHO are expressing serious concerns about the ban, saying it hampers efforts to avoid a pandemic.
Until now, countries have shared virus samples with the WHO, which provides them to vaccine manufacturers.
But Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari has claimed Indonesia "owns" the bird flu strain that has infected tens of millions of chickens and killed more than 60 people.
When Australian drug manufacturer CSL last week announced it had developed a vaccine against the H5N1 strain of the virus, Indonesia expressed alarm. The Health Ministry said the Indonesian samples used by CSL were obtained illegally.
Mrs Supari yesterday indicated she might sue Australia for compensation and that virus samples could only be shared under a trade agreement. She denied hampering research but said virus samples would not be provided for commercial purposes.
Announcing the agreement with Baxter pharmaceuticals, Mrs Supari refused to say if Indonesia would take steps to stop the development of the Australian vaccine.
Indonesia and other underdeveloped countries are concerned that virus samples are used to produce vaccines they cannot afford to buy.
"This is not fair," Mrs Supari said. "Small countries are always badly treated. I don't want our country to be treated like that."
Baxter vaccine unit head Kim Bush said he was not involved in preventing the sharing of virus samples. The decision was the responsibility of the Indonesian Government and outside the new agreement, he said.
The deal will give Indonesia the right to produce and market any resulting vaccines.
The strains of the H5N1 virus circulating in Indonesia are considered crucial to developing new vaccines and to help map mutations in the virus.