Swine-flu gold rush

UK: It’s a case of perfect timing. Britain’s largest pharma company, GlaxoSmithKline, has spent three-and-a-half years preparing for a pandemic. Now, it hopes to sell £3bn worth of swine-flu drugs globally in what one British newspaper calls a “swine flu gold rush”.

The British government has placed orders for 60 million doses of the vaccine, which could be available by September. The firm says it will also donate 50 million doses to the World Health Organization for distribution in poorer countries.

"We don't know how big this deal is going to be, but no one can say we aren't ready"

GlaxoSmithKline has spent more than £1bn to make sure its factories can increase productionat short notice. "We don't know how big this deal is going to be, but no one can say we aren't ready," the firm’s CEO Andrew Witty told The Guardian.

According to officials at GlaxoSmithKline, the world's first human trials of a swine-flu vaccine have begun in Australia. However, the company said, "clinical trials will be limited, due to the need to provide the vaccine to governments as quickly as possible. Additional studies will therefore be required and conducted after the vaccine is made available."