Baxter to release flu vaccine in July

DEERFIELD, Ill., June 13 (UPI) -- Illinois-based Baxter International Inc. said it expects by early July to release the first commercially available dosages of H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

Baxter, based in Deerfield, Ill., is one of several vaccine makers working with the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to combat the virus, which WHO this week declared a global pandemic.

Baxter's cell-based technology yields vaccines in about 13 weeks, as compared to the 24 weeks needed for an older process where millions of chicken eggs were processed by hand to produce vaccines, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday.