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Tuesday, October 12, 2004Chiron (CHIR), the company at the center of the USA's burgeoning flu vaccine crisis, thought it had a winning formula this year. Managers would boost vaccine production 37% at its aging British factory to grab a bigger slice of the U.S. market, growing amid fears of vaccine shortages. "Last influenza season hit early and hit hard," CEO Howard Pien said in a news release just three months ago. "Our manufacturing teams have worked hard to increase production to record levels." The strategy worked during last year's flu season, when Chiron trumpeted a 50% vaccine production bump through "efficiency measures" that added $245 million to annual revenue. Now the company faces tough questions from Wall Street to Washington about whether this year's push played a role in the contamination and presumed loss of Chiron's vaccine for the USA — nearly half the nation's supply. "Whether or not corners were cut in order to achieve that goal is unclear," says analyst Jennifer Chao of Deutsche Bank. "I think that's entirely possible." posted by Sydney on 10/12/2004 07:29:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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