sanofi-aventis donates 100m doses of
A(H1N1) flu vaccine to WHO
18 June 2009
During the opening session of the Pacific Health Summit,
being held in Seattle, Washington, Christopher A. Viehbacher, Chief
Executive Officer of sanofi-aventis, declared: “I want to back
Director-General of WHO’s call for common action to fight
the influenza pandemic. This is our collective responsibility, as
companies, as an industry, as national
health authorities, as NGOs, as Foundations, to pool our collective
strengths as well as our dedication
and our motivation to find solutions that are affordable for every
patient throughout the world.”
“Exceptional times request exceptional responses. We need to act
responsibly, and we all have to
play our part. That is the reason why we intend to donate 100 million
doses of influenza vaccine to
the World Health Organization (WHO) to help developing countries face
the influenza pandemic”,
Christopher A. Viehbacher added.
This donation is tailored to respond to the 2009 influenza pandemic due
to the emergence of the
novel A(H1N1) influenza strain and includes a previous commitment made
by the company in 2008 in
the context of the A(H5N1) pandemic threat.
“The emerging A(H1N1) and A(H5N1) influenza viruses are currently
present in many countries
including some of the poorest regions of the world. This flexible
donation aims to help the WHO
address the needs of these most vulnerable populations,” said
Christopher A. Viehbacher.
Once production of A(H1N1) vaccine begins, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines
division of sanofi-aventis
Group, will reserve 10 percent of its output for the WHO as a donation
to help address the influenza
pandemic in developing countries. In the event that Sanofi Pasteur’s
manufacturing facilities become
fully committed to the production of pandemic vaccine, the company will
also supply this vaccine
under a tiered-pricing policy for developing countries.
“Becoming a global healthcare leader, and not just a pharmaceutical
company focused on the US
and Europe is the heart of sanofi-aventis strategy”, said Christopher A.
Viehbacher. “The future of our
industry is linked to the healthcare solutions that will be found for
emerging countries.
"In addition to
supporting the efforts of governments, we are working with international
organizations such as WHO,
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other global health players.
By pooling our collective
strengths as well as our dedication and our motivation, we can save
millions of lives.”
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