Vaccine firm set to lose jabs deal over under-strength drugs

Published on Sunday 11 August 2002 01:00

A VACCINE firm run by a multi-millionaire Labour donor is poised to lose the exclusive deal to supply anti-tuberculosis jabs for British schoolchildren, after it sold thousands of under-strength doses to Irish health chiefs.

The Irish government has suspended Powderject Pharmaceuticals’ licence to provide BCG vaccinations because of deep concerns over the potency of a batch of the drug distributed to 33 hospitals and clinics.

At least 2,500 people, most of them children, are now waiting anxiously to see if they have to be re-vaccinated with a stronger drug.

The dramatic move, followed by damning criticism of the company’s Merseyside plant, pushed Powderject into a surprise decision to withdraw the drug in Britain pending new tests.

The NHS will now have to get by without the vaccine, amid fears that TB could be on the rise again, until Powderject sorts out its problems or the government finds an alternative supplier.

It is the latest in a series of embarrassing episodes involving the firm, which is also at the centre of a furious row over the decision to award it the 32m deal to build up Britain’s stockpile of smallpox vaccine.

Last night British government officials warned that Powderject, run by Labour donor Paul Drayson, was likely to lose the 17m BCG contract in the light of the new revelations.

A Department of Health spokesman said there was no question about the safety of the drugs. However, he added: "Obviously the vaccines have got to be suspended as soon as possible and we will restart the vaccination programme as soon as a suitable one is available."

The Powderject vaccine is the only anti-TB drug licensed for use in the UK, but ministers are believed to be waiting for the Medicines Control Agency to rubber-stamp an alternative made in Denmark.

Nevertheless, health experts and opposition politicians last night said they were astonished the government had not followed the Irish lead and suspended Powderject’s licence in this country.

Shadow health secretary Liam Fox said: "It has just been a catalogue of dubious developments. It just calls completely into question the government’s whole handling of this situation."

One expert from the Irish Medicines Board said he was surprised that the vaccine had not been suspended in the UK, despite the warnings and emergency measures from colleagues in Ireland.

Last night a Powderject spokesman insisted the variation in potency was common but added: "We have produced a product that didn’t meet the specifications. We aren’t ignoring this, we have taken robust action. We will work with the government to help ensure that they have the vaccine. Obviously both roads are open to them, to go with us or look elsewhere."