Health regulator discusses production of H7N9 vaccine

 2013/04/12 19:56:44Taipei, April 12 (CNA) The Department of Health (DOH) said that it held an internal meeting Friday to discuss how to produce a vaccine against the H7N9 avian flu virus, and is planning to involve vaccine manufacturers in this process in the future.DOH spokesman Wang Che-chao said the department will sponsor an expert meeting on the new avian flu April 18. Afterward, it will consider inviting interested domestic and foreign vaccine manufacturers for a meeting to exchange views.Wang also said that in the purchase of vaccines in the future, the DOH's Food and Drug Administration will have a final say in the quality of the vaccine, and the Centers for Disease Control will only buy certified vaccine products.Wang made these remarks against the background of a dispute in which Steve Chan, chairman of Adimmune Corp., said at a news conference earlier that day that the company "would never attend a meeting with an illegal manufacturer."Chan stressed that Adimmune Corp. is the country's only licensed vaccine manufacturer.He said Adimmune would not attend the meeting, not because it wishes to dominate the market, but because the participation of a substandard manufacturer in vaccine production will compromise the quality of the vaccine, and the credibility of Taiwan's biotechnology industry will suffer."In such a scenario, how can Taiwan's biotechnology go international?" he asked.Chan's remarks were obviously targeted at Medigen Biotechnology Corp., an over-the-counter biotech products company.In response, an official from Medigen Biotechnology Corp. said it will "neither respond nor comment on the remarks of a competitor."Ou Chao-chuan, a finance official from Medigen, said the company will comply with the DOH's policy, and that the authorities will determine whether its products are legal and compliant.The company said it has the technology to produce vaccines, and its partner -- National Health Research Institutes -- owns a vaccine production plant.Meanwhile, the Council of Agriculture said Friday it will send its staff to Shanghai to learn about the origins of the new avian flu this week.Two epidemiologists sent by the DOH to Shanghai have returned to Taiwan after a visit there. China has confirmed 38 H7N9 cases, with 10 deaths so far.(By Lung Jui-yun, Lo Hsiu-wen and Lilian Wu)