AVP Avon Products Inc

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

The Secretary of Health and Human Services announced Saturday that it has asked three drug companies, Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis (NVS) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to make enough swine flue vaccine to immunize at least 20 million people in important jobs in health care, defense and emergency services, the Washington Post reported, citing officials.

The order, announced by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, is part of a $1 billion investment by the U.S. government to prepare against a broader outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. Further orders for potentially hundreds of millions of doses of vaccine are expected and may include MedImmune and CSL Ltd (CLS.AU), the Post reported.

Complete report:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/22/AR2009052203216.html?hpid=moreheadlines