Russia proposes bird flu vaccine cooperation with Southeast Asia

Via RIA Novosti: Russia proposes bird flu vaccine cooperation with Southeast Asia. Excerpt:

Russia is ready to cooperate with Southeast Asia in producing bird flu vaccines, officials from the country's leading vaccine company said at an international bird flu summit that opened on Bali Thursday.

The 6th International Bird Flu Summit aims to gather the world's leading specialists in the field to discuss the latest progress and methods in the fight against the disease and threat of a potential global pandemic.

"We have developed two [bird flu] vaccines, one is being registered and the other is currently being tested," said Igor Krasilnikov, a senior R&D specialist at the Moscow-based Mikrogen company said.

Mikrogen has 14 subsidiaries producing bird flu vaccines across Russia and is the country's leader in the area. The company has already signed an agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to produce vaccines in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, where bird flu is most prevalent.