Aventis Pasteur Inc. (Swiftwater, PA) is donating between 70 and 90 million doses of smallpox vaccine to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vaccine has been in the company's stock since 1972 and has an estimated commercial value of about 150 million dollar. Aventis has been working with numerous U.S. government agencies since October to prepare the vaccine for addition to the existing emergency stockpile. Contrary to media reports that the stockpile was recently discovered, government agencies had been aware of the vaccine for years, Aventis said. The National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) will conduct clinical trials to confirm efficacy and determine whether the vaccine can be diluted. Data from initial efficacy studies are encouraging, HHS said. The FDA will review it as an investigational new drug for emergency use, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Atlanta, GA) serving as the sponsor.
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