GlaxoSmithKline Acquires Pa. Vaccine Manufacturing Plant

09/02/2005

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced Sept. 1 that it is expanding its ability to increase vaccines supplies for Americans by acquiring a vaccine research and production facility in Marietta, Pa. This acquisition adds to the company's growing vaccines presence in the U.S., following GSK's recent purchase of Corixa Corporation, a developer of innovative vaccine adjuvants that increase immune response.

"GlaxoSmithKline can help boost the availability of vaccines for Americans in the future by growing our research and manufacturing capacity in Pennsylvania and the United States today," said J.P. Garnier, chief executive officer of GlaxoSmithKline. "We are working hand-in-hand with government officials to help meet public health needs by expanding our capabilities as a reliable supplier of vaccines for the U.S."

Garnier continued: "We expect to develop new flu vaccine technology at our Marietta facility that we hope will enhance our future ability to rapidly produce flu vaccines for the nation in response to a pandemic. This new technology will complement our current egg-based flu vaccine manufacturing."

The 90-acre manufacturing site in Marietta, Pa., previously owned by Wyeth, will be used to help develop the next generation of vaccines for GlaxoSmithKline. The Marietta site also will focus on the development and production of tissue culture technology that will be used for seasonal and pandemic flu vaccines.

GSK expects to use the Marietta site for the secondary production of several new vaccines for distribution in the U.S.market, following their approval by the FDA. The site has freeze-drying capabilities that will be used to enhance the shelf-life and stability of a number of the company's vaccines.

Terms of the acquisition are confidential. Once a new flu vaccine based on tissue culture is successfully developed by GSK, the company plans to make further investments at the Marietta plant GSK expects to employ approximately 270 people at the Marietta site.

"I am pleased that GSK will be reopening the Marietta facility, thanks in great part to the support of Governor Rendell and his staff, as well as that of other state, federal and local officials," Garnier said.

Gaining momentum

GSK is one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world. In the past several months, GSK has taken a number of major steps to enhance and expand its vaccines business.

In May, GSK submitted a Biologics License Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking government approval to make its current flu vaccine, Fluarix, available in the U.S. in time for the 2005-2006 flu season. On August 31, 2005, GSK received approval from the U.S. FDA for Fluarix in immunizing adults against influenza caused by virus types A and B. Fluarix is made using egg-based technology, and will be manufactured for the U.S. market at the company’s Dresden, Germany facility.

Fluarix is indicated for adults 18 and older to ward off influenza disease. Currently distributed in 79 countries, Fluarix will be available exclusively in prefilled Tip-Lok syringes.

"The introduction of Fluarix is a vital step in the effort to improve vaccination rates in the United States and protect against this highly communicable infection that threatens young and old alike," said Dr. John Treanor, associate professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Unit, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y. "Influenza can be a serious health threat, so the increased availability of this vaccine is critical to help keep the virus at bay and to potentially avoid epidemics."

In June, GSK announced that it was doubling the capacity of its Dresden, Germany, flu manufacturing facility,and building a second plant at the site to meet the increasing demand for flu vaccines worldwide.

In July, GSK finalized its acquisition of Corixa Corporation of Seattle, Wash., a developer of innovative adjuvants, which are agents that boost human immune responses to vaccines. The Corixa acquisition is strategically significant for GSK because it gives the company access to Corixa's novel adjuvant MPL, an important component in many of GSK's most promising vaccines under development. That includes GSK's candidate vaccine against infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a leading cause of cervical cancer.

A GSK press release noted that in the next five years, the company hopes to launch five major new vaccines in some countries: Cervarix, an HPV vaccine targeting cervical cancer; Rotarix, a vaccine against rotavirus already approved in 13 countries including Mexico; a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease; an improved flu vaccine for the elderly; and a meningitis combination vaccine for infants in the U.S.