AstraZeneca Canada Inc. expands product portfolio to include vaccines

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MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 18, 2009 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- MEDI | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- AstraZeneca Canada Inc. announced today that it has filed a New Drug Submission (NDS) for FluMist(R) (Influenza Vaccine, Live Attenuated Intranasal) with Health Canada. Working in partnership with its biologics subsidiary MedImmune, AstraZeneca Canada intends to bring MedImmune's leading vaccine technology to Canadian patients through its FluMist product, which is administered intranasally. The proposed indication for FluMist is for the prevention of seasonal influenza.

The submission is based on data from 73 global clinical and U.S. post-marketing studies of more than 141,000 subjects ranging in age from seven weeks to 97 years and conducted in 38 countries. During the 2004 to 2005 flu season, a large study was completed comparing FluMist, administered as a mist sprayed into the nose, to the injectable flu shot. The study included more than 8,000 children, of which more than 4,000 were between two to five years of age and showed that the group of children who received FluMist had significantly fewer cases of flu than the group who received the injectable flu shot. (i)

"Every year, there is a significant medical and economic burden placed on the Canadian health care system due to vaccine-preventable illnesses. We are hopeful that our products may one day contribute to increased vaccination rates and reduce that burden of illness," said Dr. Catriona McMahon, Vice President, Medical Affairs. "As such, AstraZeneca Canada is pleased to submit its first application for a vaccine product in Canada."

About Influenza in Canada

Influenza is the most common vaccine-preventable disease in the developed world. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians can die of influenza and its complications annually, depending on the severity of the season.(i) According to Statistics Canada, the rate of vaccination in Canada was 34 per cent in 2005(ii). Current guidelines from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) encourage annual influenza vaccination for all Canadians.(iii)

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a leading global pharmaceutical company with an extensive product portfolio spanning six major therapeutic areas: gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, infection, neuroscience, oncology, and respiratory. In Canada, AstraZeneca employs approximately 1,050 employees and its headquarters are located in Mississauga, Ontario. With a state-of-the-art drug discovery centre based in Montreal, Quebec, AstraZeneca has also been designated one of the 50 Best Employers in Canada in the 2009 Globe and Mail, Report on Business (R.O.B.) survey. For more information about AstraZeneca Canada, please visit: www.astrazeneca.ca

About MedImmune

MedImmune is a leading innovation-focused biotechnology company whose mission is to provide better medicines to patients, new medical options for physicians and rewarding careers to employees. Dedicated to advancing science and medicine to help people live better lives, the company is focused on infection, oncology, respiratory disease and inflammation, cardiovascular/gastrointestinal disease and neuroscience. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, MedImmune has approximately 3,000 employees worldwide and is the wholly owned biologics business for AstraZeneca PLC. MedImmune's portfolio complements AstraZeneca's historic range of small molecule and biologic compounds and products. For more information, visit MedImmune's Web site at http://www.medimmune.com.

FluMist(R) is a registered trademark of MedImmune licensed to AstraZeneca.

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    REFERENCES:
    ---------------------------
    (i)    About Seasonal Influenza (Flu).
           http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/index-eng.php.
           Accessed July 19, 2009.
    (ii)   Statistics Canada. The Daily, Tuesday, October 2, 2007. Study:
           Trends in influenza vaccination in Canada.
           http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/071002/dq071002a-eng.htm.
           Accessed July 14, 2009.
    (iii)  Public Health Agency of Canada. Statement on Influenza Vaccination
           for the 2007-2008 Season. Canada Communicable Disease Report.
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/publicat/ccdr-rmtc/07vol33/acs-07/index-eng.php.
           Accessed July 16, 2009.
    >>

SOURCE: AstraZeneca Canada Inc.

Jennifer Dolan, Edelman, (416) 979-1120 ext. 257, jennifer.dolan@edelman.com

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