The state is investigating complaints of price fixing and preferential treatment in the distribution of seasonal flu vaccine. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s office told reporters it has written to 13 manufacturers and distributors of seasonal flu vaccine, requesting details on price, supply levels and distribution methods by Nov. 15, Reuters writes.

Seasonal flu vaccine is in short supply, in part, because distribution has swung to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. Blumenthal said his office has received complaints of seasonal flu vaccine being offered at many times the normal price, and of distributors and manufacturers reneging on previously negotiated price agreements.

The vaccine makers contacted by Blumenthal’s office about alleged price gouging were Sanofi-Pasteur, a unit of Sanofi-Aventis; GlaxoSmithKline; AstraZeneca’s MedImmune unit; and CSL Biotherapies, which is part of CSL Limited. Nine distributors in five states were also contacted.

“Be advised that I will aggressively pursue enforcement action against any company or individual that is taking advantage of the current SFV shortage to engage in price gouging or other unethical and abusive business practices to the detriment of Connecticut healthcare providers and their families,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to ABO Pharmaceuticals, a distributor, according to Reuters.

Flu shot (get it?) courtesy of Lu_lu on Flickr Creative Commons