(Reuters) -GSK, Sanofi (NASDAQ:) and CSL (OTC:) Ltd have secured $72 million from the US government to ramp up production of bird flu vaccines, a health official said at a press conference on Friday.
The move comes as a multi-state outbreak among livestock and poultry has caused human illness and infected more than 254 flocks in 14 states since March, according to government data.
The companies will use the money to fill vials and prefilled syringes so that doses are ready to be distributed if needed, said David Boucher, director of Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The latest price includes $37.9 million for CSL, $23.4 million for Sanofi and $10.5 million for GSK.
It would more than double the country’s supply of bird flu vaccinations, raising the country’s total supply of ready doses to 10 million by the first quarter of 2025.
GSK, Sanofi and CSL will also make additional bulk vaccine ingredients tailored to circulating avian flu strains, Boucher said.
Australia’s CSL recently won a $121.4 million contract to expand the U.S. government’s stockpile of bird flu vaccines to 40 million doses.
CSL and GSK did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Sanofi referred Reuters to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a part of HHS that issued the reward.
