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Domestic influenza vaccine plan nixed

A build-own-operate (BOO) project to manufacture influenza vaccine has been suspended after years of delays, delivering a setback to the nation’s ambitious plan to be the first to build an independent and self-sufficient vaccine manufacturing capacity, government and pharmaceutical industry sources said last week.

The project, which was launched in 2004, will be put on hold after an operational plan submitted by Dutch pharmaceutical company Akzo Nobel was rejected by the Department of Health earlier this month for failing to meet criteria stipulated in the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法), a senior department official said on condition of anonymity.

Although Akzo Nobel is making a final pitch by appealing the decision, a source close to the project said that “it is fair to say the project is terminated, at least for now.”

Despite the frustrating experience and outcome, the government and private sector are still enthusiastic about vaccine BOO deals, an official at the Centers for Disease Control said, adding that the government has not given up hope and strongly believes that “in its second try, the project will go smoothly.”

Steve Chan (詹啟賢), chairman and CEO of ADImmune Corporation (ADI) and a prominent figure in medical and political circles, also expressed interest in participating in the project should the government decide to relaunch it.

The dual-purpose project, set up amid concerns over an influenza pandemic triggered by a flu strain like H5N1, was aimed at building the country’s capacity to develop and manufacture influenza vaccine by using the advanced cell-based method with the cooperation of the pharmaceutical company.

The vaccine plant under the BOO would provide seasonal influenza vaccines, for which Taiwan at present relies entirely on imports, but should a pandemic occur, the facility would expand to manufacture specific vaccine to tackle the pandemic.

Under the original design, the construction of the plant should have been completed last year and should have become operational this year.

The facility would have produced 2.5 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine annually, with the department allocating NT$4 billion (US$124.4 million) for guaranteed purchases.

But the project has been mired in difficulties arising from competition between foreign and local companies, international business mergers and complex legal issues.

The project was at least two to three years behind schedule. Public health officials, however, have managed to find consolation in “the good news” that an influenza pandemic has not occurred.

They also said that in recent years, local pharmaceutical companies have acquired advanced biotechnology and manufacturing capabilities, pointing to cooperation between ADI and Dutch biomedical company Crucell.

The private venture is expected to manufacture about 30 million doses of flu vaccine annually for both the domestic and international markets, ADI said.
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