WHO to receive flu vaccine donation from Pa. drugmaker

Sanofi Pasteur, of Swiftwater in Northeastern Pennsylvania, said today it would donate 60 million doses of influenza vaccine to the World Health Organization.

The vaccine, to be supplied over three years, will help build a stockpile that can be used in poor regions of the world in the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza.

Sanofi-Pasteur is the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis Group, the Paris pharmaceutical company. It has U.S. research and development headquarters in Malvern.

The company said the target virus, known as H5N1, is circultating in poor regions and a pandemic would likely hit populations living in areas with limited access to vaccines.