Baxter's swine flu vaccine wins EU OK

The European Medicines Agency recommended approval of Baxter International Inc.'s Celvapan swine flu vaccine, one of two products to be used by U.K. health authorities to protect against the pandemic virus.

Patients should receive two doses of the vaccine, given three weeks apart, the London-based agency said today in an e- mailed statement. Further results from clinical tests will be available by the middle of the month, the agency said.

The backing of Celvapan follows similar recommendations a week ago for GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Novartis AG vaccines. Glaxo's Pandemrix is the other product being used in the U.K.'s immunization campaign, and the London-based drugmaker said it plans to begin shipping doses to European governments next week. Baxter delivered the first 200,000 doses of Celvapan to the U.K. at the end of August.

England's Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson said yesterday that the U.K. will begin offering swine flu shots this month to health workers and people most at risk of contracting the illness. The U.K. has ordered 132 million doses of swine flu vaccine from Glaxo and Baxter, based in Deerfield.