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Biotech / Medical : Biotech Valuation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Biomaven who wrote (9658)	12/5/2003 1:57:56 PM
From: tom pope	Respond to of 52153

QDEL traded up to 9.50 last nite after the CEO appeared on CNBC

To: Biomaven who wrote (9658)	12/5/2003 1:58:22 PM
From: Biomaven	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 52153

Reuters UPDATE - Aventis U.S. flu vaccine supply running short Friday December 5, 1:11 pm ET By Kim Dixon (Adds background, CDC, company comments) CHICAGO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A leading supplier of the flu vaccine in the United States said on Friday it may soon run out as Americans rush to get shots in a worsening flu outbreak that has so far killed five children in Colorado. Drugmaker Aventis SA (Paris:AVEP.PA - News; NYSE:AVE - News) said it expects to run out of its flu vaccine "very soon" as the U.S. tries to cope with one of the harshest flu seasons in years. "Because of the outbreaks that are taking place around the country, we've experienced an unprecedented demand and we have placed limits" on distribution, Aventis spokesman Len Lavenda said. "We expect to run out of vaccine very soon." Aventis, based in Strasbourg, France, is one of the leading producers of the vaccine and one of a handful of companies that still make it. The virus kills roughly 36,000 people in an average year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC officials said it was not unusual for some providers to be running low and that it would assess the situation. This year's strain is particularly active and the season is shaping up to be one of the harshest in recent years. The CDC is assessing the vaccine distribution and will decide if extra doses should be shipped elsewhere, said Rhonda Smith, a CDC spokeswoman. NASAL SPRAY Shares of MedImmune Inc. (NasdaqNM:MEDI - News), which makes a nasal flu spray, rose $1.28 or 5 percent to $26.70 on the Nasdaq. MedImmune Inc. and Wyeth (NYSE:WYE - News) this year began selling the world's first nasal flu vaccine, called FluMist, but sales have been hampered by poor demand -- in part because it costs up to five times more than conventional flu shots. Wyeth had been the second biggest producer of flu shots, making more than one third of the nation's supply, but dropped the product line in order to focus on FluMist. MedImmune spokeswoman Jamie Lacey on Friday declined to say whether the nasal product's flagging sales have been helped by unexpectedly strong demand for flu shots. Chiron Corp. (NasdaqNM:CHIR - News) is another maker of the flu vaccine in the United States. Shares of Aventis were down 9 cents at $59.20 on the New York Stock Exchange (News - Websites) at midday.