Novartis to Build Vaccine Plant in North Carolina for U.S. Government

(MoneyWatch)  The U.S Department of Health and Human Services awarded a contract worth almost $500 million to Novartis to construct a vaccine plant. The cost of construction will be shared by the company and the U.S. government. Reuters reports that it will be built in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The goal is to have a facility that will be able to produce 150 million doses of flue vaccine in six months if required. This plant will be used to supply the vaccine in case of a pandemic in the United States. Novartis will also use the plant to make regular flu vaccine while there is no requirement for it respond to an epidemic. According to TMCNet.com the facility will be the first in the U.S. to utilize cell based vaccine manufacturing. This system allows faster production which would be key for this facility to handle a pandemic.