At issue is suspicion that GlaxoSmithKline and others will use bird-flu samples, develop vaccines, make money and then not produce enough for Indonesians or other poor countries. So Indonesia is threatening to pull out of a World Health Organization flu surveillance network, the first time any nation has done so. Glaxo is furious.

“We are concerned that recent developments appear to undermine the spirit of the long-established WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network,” the drugmaker told The Times of London. “For this system to remain effective and to ensure that the international community is in a position to respond to the threat posed by a pandemic, all countries must freely share information on viruses circulating in their countries.”

Interestingly, a WHO spokesman acknowledged that Indonesia has a point. “Indonesia is rightly concerned about its access to a vaccine. At most, manufacturers will be able to produce only 500 million doses — far short of what will be needed in the event of a pandemic. The vaccines will be in limited supply and will probably be available only to countries which have manufacturing capacity.”

Interesting negotiating strategy for access to needed medicines. You want our samples? Guarantee product. If not, we’ll take you down with us. If you were in charge of the vaccine unit at some drugmaker, what would you do?

[tags]Bird Flu, GlaxoSmithKline, Indonesia, World Health Organization[/tags]