Bird flu vaccine production

[FrancisL]

There is an interesting point made in the observer today about the productive capacity of pharmaceutical plants.
Quote

"There is a terrible irony in the fact that the growth in scientific research and technology now means we can engineer a vaccine against a new strain within weeks, and yet it can't actually happen. There are only a handful of factories worldwide capable of manufacturing such a vaccine, and they cannot make more than 300 million doses in a year, compared with the several billion shots we would need."
from

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,6903,1593220,00.html

Is this true? The question I want to raise, is whether it would be feasible to divert existing capacity that is currently producing other products, into producing vaccines for Bird Flu (when the strain has evolved and been identified)

 

[MedicineEng]

Where is money, there is will. For the case of the Bird Flu once the vaccine is discovered and if the public oppinion maintains this issue in its high concern, I believe that there will be enough capacity to produce.