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April 25, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS 

"Merck Sees Challenges in Developing SARS Vaccine"

Reuters (www.reuters.com) (04/24/03); Frost, Greg

Merck says that it has begun helping in the search for a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), but chairman and CEO Raymond Gilmartin cautions that the development of such a product will not be easy.  Gilmartin told the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on Thursday that Merck has already provided the government with antiviral medicines to discover whether they are effective against SARS, and has asked that in return that the government give the company a sample of the virus and its genetic code so that Merck might begin work toward a vaccine.  Despite the interest from Merck, one of the biggest vaccine makers in the world, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health say that a vaccine may be years away from implementation.

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