Mainland firm claims swine flu vaccine

Henan-based pharmaceutical company Hualan Biological Engineering claimed yesterday that it has developed a vaccine for the H1N1 swine flu, the South China Morning Post reported. The vaccine could be on the market in months, said Pan Ruowen, deputy director of Hualan. "We need to conduct 13 tests to ensure the vaccines are safe and effective," he told broadcaster CCTV. "[Laboratory tests] would take 14 days and the period cannot be shortened because we have to carry out the tests strictly according to standard." Hualan said it started manufacturing the vaccine on June 13 and expects to be able to produce 600,000 doses per day. On the same day, the State Food and Drug Administration warned officials to carefully monitor the vaccine market to prevent fraudulent or improperly tested products from entering the market. Twenty-seven new cases of swine flu were confirmed on the mainland yesterday, including two American tourists who may have contracted the disease in Suzhou.