Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company today disclosed a big boost in orders for its [1] swine flu vaccine as governments around the world build stockpiles ahead of the winter.

[2] GlaxoSmithKline, headed by chief executive Andrew Witty, revealed that the number of orders for its H1N1 vaccine had jumped by 50% to more than 400m since August, putting the company on course for a windfall worth about £3bn by the end of the year, according to City analysts.

Witty has said that each vaccine will sell for close to £5 a shot, although the boost to GSK’s top line ignores production and research and development costs, so profits will be lower. But Kevin Wilson at [3] Citigroup said that “pandemic sales should lead to potential earnings surprises through the fourth quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2010 when overlaid with the rest of the business”.

[4] http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/oct/06/glaxosmithkline-swine-flu-vaccine-orders