Some Influenza Vaccine Suppliers Now Taking Orders for 2007-08 Season
By News Staff
1/10/2007
The 2006-07 influenza season is far from over -- indeed, the season hasn't yet reached its peak, say CDC officials -- but vaccine manufacturers and distributors already have started prebooking orders for next season.
Here's a rundown on at least some of the firms that have begun offering vaccine for next season.
Vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has announced it will offer its influenza vaccine Fluarix® in single-dose, prefilled syringes directly to clinicians in the coming season -- a first for this manufacturer. Prebooking for 2007-08 began Jan. 8 via a new Web site -- GSKvaccinesdirect.com -- created specifically for this purpose. Clinicians should note that GSK does not sell influenza vaccine directly to customers in Maine or the District of Columbia. Call GSK's Vaccines Service Center at (866) GSK-VACC [475-8222] for more details.
On Jan. 2, vaccine distributor ASD Healthcare launched its new program CertiFlu, described on the ASD Web site as "a flu vaccine ordering program that ensures you will receive the quantity of vaccine you need by the date you need it." Best of all, says ASD, no deposit is required. The company is offering two manufacturers' vaccine products for next season: Novartis' Fluvirin® vaccine, available in 5 mL vials or as single-dose, prefilled syringes, and GSK's FluLaval® vaccine (manufactured by GSK's recently acquired Canadian subsidiary ID Biomedical Corp.), sold in 5 mL vials. Call (866) 281-4FLU [4358] to order by phone, download a prebooking form (PDF file: 1 page / 281 KB. More about PDFs.) to complete and fax to (800) 547-9413, or order online.
Distributor FFF Enterprises launched its 2007-08 influenza vaccine ordering activities, which include a "guaranteed delivery" option, on Jan. 4. As it did for the 2006-07 influenza season, FFF is offering two vaccine ordering programs for next season: MyFluVaccine and its traditional ordering program (view a side-by-side comparison of the two programs). With MyFluVaccine, clinicians can select their delivery dates and place their orders online. An upfront deposit of 10 percent is required to secure the order for delivery on or before the date(s) selected. More information about the traditional ordering program, including how to download a form to complete and fax to (800) 418-4333, also is available online. Call (800) 843-7477 for more information about either ordering option. FFF is offering Fluvirin in 5 mL vials and sanofi pasteur's Fluzone®, also in 5 mL vials, for the 2007-08 influenza season.
Finally, distributor Henry Schein also has begun taking orders for next season, having opened its prebooking process Jan. 3. Although the company hasn't modified its normal ordering process and isn't offering any special incentives or guarantees for the 2007-08 influenza vaccine season, the company's chairman and CEO, Stanley Bergman, pointed out in a Jan. 2 press release that Schein is "the only company to accept prebooking orders for flu vaccine from each of the three manufacturers of injectable flu vaccine," referring to GSK, Novartis (which acquired manufacturer Chiron Corp. in late 2005) and sanofi pasteur. "As in years past, we expect the vast majority of our sales of influenza vaccine to be to office-based physician customers," said Bergman.
The Schein press release further notes that the influenza vaccine orders the company receives for 2007-08 do not constitute binding agreements and that all customers will be contacted prior to shipment to verify their orders.
That could well be a wise move, given that all of these companies' prebooking activities are coming long before the World Health Organization has completed its semi-yearly analysis of global surveillance data and announced its recommendations for the composition of the 2007-08 influenza virus vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere, a process that typically doesn't occur until February.
From that point, using current egg-based vaccine production techniques and barring significant production setbacks, it takes about six months to begin shipping vaccine to end-users.
Vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline has announced it will offer its influenza vaccine Fluarix® in single-dose, prefilled syringes directly to clinicians in the coming season -- a first for this manufacturer. Prebooking for 2007-08 began Jan. 8 via a new Web site -- GSKvaccinesdirect.com -- created specifically for this purpose. Clinicians should note that GSK does not sell influenza vaccine directly to customers in Maine or the District of Columbia. Call GSK's Vaccines Service Center at (866) GSK-VACC [475-8222] for more details.
On Jan. 2, vaccine distributor ASD Healthcare launched its new program CertiFlu, described on the ASD Web site as "a flu vaccine ordering program that ensures you will receive the quantity of vaccine you need by the date you need it." Best of all, says ASD, no deposit is required. The company is offering two manufacturers' vaccine products for next season: Novartis' Fluvirin® vaccine, available in 5 mL vials or as single-dose, prefilled syringes, and GSK's FluLaval® vaccine (manufactured by GSK's recently acquired Canadian subsidiary ID Biomedical Corp.), sold in 5 mL vials. Call (866) 281-4FLU [4358] to order by phone, download a prebooking form (PDF file: 1 page / 281 KB. More about PDFs.) to complete and fax to (800) 547-9413, or order online.
Distributor FFF Enterprises launched its 2007-08 influenza vaccine ordering activities, which include a "guaranteed delivery" option, on Jan. 4. As it did for the 2006-07 influenza season, FFF is offering two vaccine ordering programs for next season: MyFluVaccine and its traditional ordering program (view a side-by-side comparison of the two programs). With MyFluVaccine, clinicians can select their delivery dates and place their orders online. An upfront deposit of 10 percent is required to secure the order for delivery on or before the date(s) selected. More information about the traditional ordering program, including how to download a form to complete and fax to (800) 418-4333, also is available online. Call (800) 843-7477 for more information about either ordering option. FFF is offering Fluvirin in 5 mL vials and sanofi pasteur's Fluzone®, also in 5 mL vials, for the 2007-08 influenza season.
Finally, distributor Henry Schein also has begun taking orders for next season, having opened its prebooking process Jan. 3. Although the company hasn't modified its normal ordering process and isn't offering any special incentives or guarantees for the 2007-08 influenza vaccine season, the company's chairman and CEO, Stanley Bergman, pointed out in a Jan. 2 press release that Schein is "the only company to accept prebooking orders for flu vaccine from each of the three manufacturers of injectable flu vaccine," referring to GSK, Novartis (which acquired manufacturer Chiron Corp. in late 2005) and sanofi pasteur. "As in years past, we expect the vast majority of our sales of influenza vaccine to be to office-based physician customers," said Bergman.
The Schein press release further notes that the influenza vaccine orders the company receives for 2007-08 do not constitute binding agreements and that all customers will be contacted prior to shipment to verify their orders.
That could well be a wise move, given that all of these companies' prebooking activities are coming long before the World Health Organization has completed its semi-yearly analysis of global surveillance data and announced its recommendations for the composition of the 2007-08 influenza virus vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere, a process that typically doesn't occur until February.
From that point, using current egg-based vaccine production techniques and barring significant production setbacks, it takes about six months to begin shipping vaccine to end-users.
