CSL gets $121 million contract to increase US stockpile for bird flu vaccines to 40 million doses

(Reuters) -Australia's CSL said on Wednesday it has got a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) worth $121.4 million to increase the U.S. government's stockpile for bird flu vaccines to 40 million doses.

Under the multi-year contract CSL will deliver its MF59 adjuvant, an ingredient that can be used to manufacture vaccines against the H5 avian influenza virus.

"This decision will further support the U.S. government's pandemic preparedness efforts," CSL said.

The funding is part of a partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

A part of HHS, the BARDA helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats.

This is the fifth award CSL has received from the BARDA in response to the bird flu outbreak. Under its previous contract it delivered about 4.8 million doses of its bird flu vaccine.

H5 bird flu is widespread in wild birds worldwide and is causing outbreaks in poultry and U.S. dairy cows, with several recent human cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the 14th human case of H5 reported in the United States during 2024 and the first case of H5 without a known occupational exposure to sick or infected animals.

"While the current public health risk is low, the CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures," the agency says on its website.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)