Health Canada's 448-page Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan was hailed by the World Health Organization as the world's most comprehensive, but questions remain about one cornerstone of the plan: a stable vaccine supply.
The federal government has contracted Shire Biologics, a UK-based company with facilities in Laval and Sainte-Foy, Quebec, to provide pandemic influenza vaccine. However, the company is losing money — $14.5 million in the first six months of 2003 — and its parent, Shire Pharmaceuticals Group plc announced last July that it plans to sell the division this year, to focus on manufacturing pharmaceuticals.
Shire Biologics spokesperson Michèle Roy said that the sale “won't affect the contract with the Canadian government. It's a business with great potential, it's just not in the strategic focus of Shire. As an independent company it could fulfill its full potential.”
In October 2001, Shire Biologics signed a $300-million, 10-year contract with the federal government to “assure a state of readiness in the case of an influenza pandemic” and to provide “a substantial portion” (75% in 2003) of the usual annual flu vaccine. Company spokesperson Roy would not say how much money is allocated for pandemic preparedness, but the company is spending $73 million on vaccine manufacturing and research facilities in Quebec. Canada is the first country to have a “secure vaccine supply” from a domestic source.
The plan is garnering support across Canada. Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an epidemiologist at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, said it provides a clear framework for dealing with an influenza outbreak. It establishes the lines of authority and brings together key players. “You have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” she said. “We have the mechanism in place to prepare for the worst.” — Ben Hadaway, CMAJ