HIP HOP CULTURE SHOCK SHOP

The US government "has committed $1.8 billion to companies to make a swine flu vaccine," Reuters reported on September 30, 2009, in an article with the headline, "Big pharma jumps back into flu business."

"Abbott Labs bought a Belgian drug business, along with its flu vaccine facilities, for $6.6 billion. Johnson & Johnson invested $444 million in a Dutch biotech firm (Crucell) that makes and develops flu vaccines. Merck which already makes vaccines for shingles and other diseases, struck a deal to distribute flu shots made by Australian CSL," ABC News reported on October 14, 2009

"The vaccine market is booming. It's an enormous growth area for pharmaceuticals at a time when other areas are not doing so well," Bruce Carlson, a spokesperson for the market research firm Kalorama, told ABC News.

The most recent estimates have GlaxoSmithKline "reaping some $4.8 billion from the pandemic, between its Pandemrix vaccine, its Relenza antiviral drug, and other products such as antiviral face masks and flu diagnostics," Fierce Pharma reported on October 9, 2009.