GlaxoSmithKline have announced that they have received 22 new orders from the government for their version of the swine flu vaccine, called Pandemix. The order is equivalent to 149 more doses of the drug.
It is expected that the first supplies of the vaccine will be shipped this week and there will be two shipments, in the fourth quarter of 2009 and at the start of 2010. The British pharmaceutical firm have said that each dose of the vaccine will be sold for the same price as its seasonal flu jabs, at around £5. This means that with total orders for the vaccine currently at 440 million, the firm are in line to make profits of about £2.2 billion.
The company has also made agreements with the U.S government to provide them with additional products to combat the pandemic and is still in discussions with other governments worldwide who are interested in purchasing the vaccine to protect the population.