US Awards Chiron Corporation $62.5 Million Bird Flu Vaccine Work

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 2005--Chiron Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIR) today announced that it has won a $62.5 million contract to supply the U.S. government with pre-pandemic influenza vaccine for a stockpile to protect against the H5N1 avian influenza virus strain. Under the agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Chiron will provide a bulk stockpile of H5N1 influenza vaccine, which the company will produce at its Liverpool manufacturing facility using the U.S.-licensed commercial-scale manufacturing process. Production of the H5N1 stockpile vaccine under this agreement will not affect production of Chiron's annual FLUVIRIN(R) influenza virus vaccine.