CSL Seqirus Secures Fourth US Award to Enhance Bird Flu Vaccine Stockpile

1. Fourth Award: CSL Seqirus has received its fourth award from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to enhance the US government's bird flu vaccine stockpile in response to sustained highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) activity.
2. Vaccine Production: The company will produce approximately 4.8 million doses of pre-pandemic vaccine matched to the H5 component of the H5N1 virus, with the production process set to be completed later this summer.
3. Manufacturing Facility: The vaccines will be produced at CSL Seqirus' North Carolina facility, which is the largest cell-based influenza vaccine producer in the world and has the capacity to deliver up to 150 million influenza vaccine doses within six months of a pandemic declaration.
4. Pandemic Preparedness: The agreement aims to support the US government's ability to respond swiftly in the event that the current avian flu situation changes, emphasizing the importance of pandemic preparedness and public health protection.
5. H5N1 Threat: The H5N1 virus has been identified in three human cases in the US, all of whom worked on dairy farms in Texas and Michigan, raising concerns about the potential for human-to-human transmission.