The sudden disruption of the nation's flu-shot supply that materialized yesterday should help MedImmune Inc. win broader near-term acceptance of its troubled Flu- Mist nasal spray vaccine, while solidifying the company's long-term push to make the product profitable, analysts said yesterday.
The surprise opportunity for FluMist developed after British authorities stopped production at a Liverpool manufacturing plant of Chiron Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of influenza vaccines. As a result, Chiron will not deliver the 46 million to 48 million flu shots it had planned for the United States, nearly half of the total doses expected.
Shares of Gaithersburg-based MedImmune gained nearly 6 percent, or $1.41, to close at $25.78.
Frank DiLorenzo, a biotechnology analyst with Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services in New York, said Chiron's travails will almost certainly boost sales of FluMist during the looming 2004-2005 flu season. That will probably lead to some longer-term benefits for MedImmune, he said.
"We think there's the potential scenario for next year's [2005-2006] flu season where you'll see more support for FluMist" out in the marketplace, DiLorenzo said.
U.S. health officials are urging healthy adults to delay, or even skip, getting flu shots this year to conserve supplies for those in the most danger. That could persuade some to use MedImmune's FluMist, a move that make more flu shots available for children, the infirm and the elderly, none of whom qualify for the nasal-spray vaccine.
MedImmune spokeswoman Jamie Lacey said yesterday that the company has produced 1 million to 2 million doses for this season. Because vaccine production takes about four months, making more won't be easy, she said. Nevertheless, the company is exploring the possibility, she said.
"We're just beginning to engage in that. We're just getting started" taking a look, Lacey said.
Despite FluMist's miserable performance in its debut season last year, a flop blamed largely on its relatively high price and limitations on its use, MedImmune repeatedly underscored its commitment to the spray vaccine, contending that it is a key building block for an important new business. Some experts agree.
"I think it's a great product," said vaccine researcher Dr. James Campbell, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and its Center for Vaccine Development.
