Indonesia to Develop Bird Flu Vaccine with Baxter

According to the Financial Times, last month the Indonesian government stopped sharing key samples of H5N1 avian flu virus with international laboratories and researchers pending a planned collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Baxter (BAX).

It is expected that government officials and Baxter representatives will announce plans for the development of a vaccine against the deadly disease, where Baxter will have exclusive access to the viral samples. The announcement is expected some time this week.

Baxter officials quickly announced that the company will fully comply with the World Health Organization's [WHO] rules for sharing viral samples with world institutions.

It would be interesting to find out just how big of a financial contribution Baxter will make in order for a nation such as Indonesia to suddenly worry about protecting its intellectual property rights related to the H5N1 viral strain.

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