GSK begins shipping first of 2015-16 flu vaccines

PHILADELPHIA — GlaxoSmithKline announced Thursday that it had started shipping its Fluarix flu vaccine in the U.S. for the 2015-2016 flu season. The company expects to supply between 32-38 million doses of both Fluarix and its other vaccine Fluvaval, which will ship in August.

Because of the company’s decision to shift to four-strain flu vaccines, both Fluarix, which is available in .5-ml single-dose, pre-filled syringes, and Fluvaval, which comes in a 5-ml bottle with 10 doses, are quadrivalent vaccines. The quadrivalent vaccines are intended to protect patients from two types of both Influenza A and B.

“This decision gives patients the opportunity for broader protection since it covers a fourth flu virus strain compared to trivalent vaccines that only cover three strains,” GSK’s SVP U.S. Vaccines Patrick Desbiens said. “With flu a priority focus of our portfolio, we have made a significant investment in customer service upgrades, designed to accelerate delivery timelines to customers.”