BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

North American Vaccine: 4th strike

October 25, 1999 7:00 AM UTC

When its Certiva diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine received FDA approval last year, North American Vaccine Inc. hoped that its marketing deal with Abbott Laboratories would allow the product to compete with the three already marketed DTaP vaccines.

But earlier this month, Abbott (Abbott Park, Ill.) terminated its 1996 agreement to market Certiva to private physicians in the U.S. (see BioCentury, Oct. 11). Last week partner Chiron Behring GmbH & Co. (Marburg, Germany) notified NVX that it is seeking to terminate its agreement to market Certiva DTaP and DTaP-IPV (injectable polio virus) vaccines in Germany and Austria. NVX intends to dispute the termination...