GlaxoSmithKline, Britain's largest drug company, has won a contract worth at least $40m (£21m) to supply the US with bird flu vaccines. The group said it had signed the contract with the US department of health and human services to provide bulk H5N1 antigen - the substance in the vaccines that will help produce an immune response.
GSK added that it would manufacture and store the antigen using its production facilities in North America. This follows the group's recent £70m deal with the Swiss government to supply the entire population with bird flu vaccines.