HHS Invests $132 Million in Bird Flu Vaccine

Shouldn't BARDA be the one handing out the cash for this??? Whats the point of making an agency specifically designed to do that and then not use it? Anyway, here's All Headline News:

"Washington, D.C. (AHN) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt on Thursday announced that the organization awarded contracts worth $132.5 million to three vaccine makers to develop an advanced H5N1 influenza vaccine. The advanced vaccine would work by using an ingredient called an adjuvant that serves as an immune-system booster to enhance the body's response to the vaccine's active ingredient.

"In the event of an influenza pandemic, a vaccine that uses adjuvant could provide a way to extend a limited vaccine supply to more people," Secretary Leavitt said in a statement.

HHS has awarded five-year contracts to GlaxoSmithKline for $63.3 million and to Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics, Inc., for $54.8 million to develop the adjuvant. In addition, HHS awarded IOMAI Corporation $14.4 million for 15 months to complete its Phase 1 clinical trials of the vaccine they are developing, according to the statement.

Phase 1 clinical trials are the beginning of tests on humans to see if the vaccine works and what its side effects are.

Vaccines are the most effective way to protect against flu. The H5N1 avian influenza that is currently common in birds is occasionally transmitted to humans, according to the PandemicFlu.gov website."

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I believe BioCryst is getting BARDA help for its vaccine, as well as Vaxogen or whatever they're called. Looks like the HHS proper is only interested in giving money to the big guys.