WHO Suspends Sanofi Shan5 Child Vaccine Amid Probe

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>>The World Health Organization is conducting a probe into Sanofi-Aventis SA’s Shan5 vaccine, used to prevent childhood diseases in poor nations, after reports of a white sediment forming on the glass of some vials.“An investigation is ongoing and we’ve advised countries to put any remaining vaccine in quarantine until further notice,” said WHO spokeswoman Melinda Henry in a phone interview today.The shot is a combination to prevent diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenza B, and hepatitis B. About 23 million doses have been shipped to United Nations agencies in 12 countries, mostly in Africa, Sanofi’s Pasteur vaccine unit said in an e-mailed statement today. The vaccine is produced at a plant in Hyderabad, India.<<For poor "3rd World" children, who are undernourished, 5 vaccines in one! This is criminal anyhow!===========http://snipurl.com/uxaxn [One Click]March 17, 2010WHO Suspends Sanofi Shan5 Child Vaccine Amid Probe (Update2)By Trista Kelley and Dermot DohertyThe World Health Organization is conducting a probe into Sanofi-Aventis SA’s Shan5 vaccine, used to prevent childhood diseases in poor nations, after reports of a white sediment forming on the glass of some vials.“An investigation is ongoing and we’ve advised countries to put any remaining vaccine in quarantine until further notice,” said WHO spokeswoman Melinda Henry in a phone interview today.The shot is a combination to prevent diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, haemophilus influenza B, and hepatitis B. About 23 million doses have been shipped to United Nations agencies in 12 countries, mostly in Africa, Sanofi’s Pasteur vaccine unit said in an e-mailed statement today. The vaccine is produced at a plant in Hyderabad, India.“WHO recommends that countries should use another pentavalent vaccine in the meantime,” said Henry, who was unable to say how long the investigation would last. None of the information available suggests a safety problem, she said.“We are currently assessing the number of doses involved with the current situation,” Sanofi said. The WHO’s suspension of the shot is a “precautionary measure pending outcome of an investigation of vaccine quality,” the Paris-based drugmaker said.Sanofi dropped 93 cents, or 1.6 percent, to close at 56.28 euros in Paris trading.$340 Million ContractSanofi’s Shantha unit in September won a $340 million contract from the United Nations Children’s fund to provide Shan5 from 2010 to 2012. Crucell NV, the Dutch maker of the competing Quinvaxem vaccine, may have an advantage during the investigation, according to Jefferies International Ltd. analyst Peter Welford in London.“The news underscores the potential upside from Crucell securing future awards,” Welford wrote in a note to clients today. “Quality control concerns for competing vaccines are more likely to benefit Quinvaxem in later years, in our view, particularly if Crucell is able to secure a greater share of future Unicef awards.”

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