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Uncertain Vaccine Supply Tops Agenda for Experts Meeting

Sabin Vaccine Institute taps representatives of international and national public health agencies, regulators, and manufacturers to remedy the shortage of vaccines

WHAT: The Sabin Vaccine Institute will convene a scientific colloquium, "Global Vaccine Shortage: The Threat to Children and What to Do About It," where world experts will examine the current problems with maintaining vaccine supplies, and recommend lasting solutions for improving vaccine security.

WHEN: October 23-25, 2002

WHERE: Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York

WHO: Key speakers at the colloquium include
· Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF and Chair of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI);
· Kevin L. Reilly, past President of Wyeth Vaccines;
· Steven Bice, Director for the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
· Damian Braga, President, Aventis USA;
· Anthony Robbins, Tufts University School of Medicine;
· Walter Vandersmissen, Director, Government Affairs & Industry Relations, Glaxo SmithKline Biologicals (GSK).

BACKGROUND: Vaccine supply could not keep pace this past year with demand for basic vaccines essential to prevent childhood diseases in both industrialized nations and developing countries. The Connecticut-based Sabin Vaccine Institute has organized the scientific colloquium where the stakeholders will discuss urgent action needed to remedy the situation. Participants in this colloquium include 35 key representatives of manufacturing, purchasing, regulating, and policymaking entities.

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For more information contact:
Raymond MacDougall, Sabin Vaccine Institute, (301) 231-7092, ext. 261
Mohammad Jalloh, UNICEF Media, New York, (212) 326-7516

EDITOR'S NOTE

The following individuals who will attend the colloquium can provide comment on vaccine supply issues and the anticipated outcome of the meeting.

Lance K. Gordon, PhD Tel: 650-624-1002 lgordon@vaxgen.com
Dr. Gordon is co-chair of the colloquium. He is CEO of VaxGen Inc. of Brisbane, California, which develops, tests and manufactures vaccines for the prevention and treatment of human infectious diseases. The company was chosen earlier this month by the U.S. government to develop a new anthrax vaccine.

Lewis Miller Tel: 203-662-9690 lamiller@intermedica-inc.com
Mr. Miller is co-chair of the colloquium. He is a board member of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and is co-founder of Intermedica Inc. of Darien, Connecticut, a medical and healthcare education product company that provides U.S. medical education content to physicians and patients around the world.

Heidi Larson, PhD Tel: 646- 207 5179 hlarson@unicef.org
Dr. Larson is senior communications advisor for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF ) Division of Communications in New York. As well, she is a liaison for UNICEF to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

Nancy E. Tomich Tel: 202-463-6000 tomich@usminstitute.org
Ms. Tomich is managing director of the US Medicine Institute for Health Studies in Washington, DC.

The Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute's mission is to prevent disease by stimulating development of new vaccines and increasing immunization rates. Founded in 1993, the Institute is headquartered in New Canaan, Connecticut. The Institute pursues Albert Sabin's vision of a world protected from disease by vaccines. Sabin Institute colloquia bring together leaders of academia, industry, government and philanthropy in a shared quest to accelerate the development of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases and to prevent and treat cancer. As an immunization advocate, it helps policy makers shape sound public health policies and informs the public about the importance of vaccinations. The Sabin Institute's Hookworm Vaccine Initiative is working to develop a vaccine to prevent an infection that afflicts more than twenty percent of the world's population, a leading cause of malnutrition and stunted development.