HL Deb 23 April 2002 vol 634 c26WA
Lord Alton of Liverpool

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the stockpile of smallpox vaccine which they have purchased from PowderJect Pharmaceuticals is derived from cell lines from aborted foetuses. [HL3806]

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

The stockpile of smallpox vaccine which is to be purchased from PowderJect Pharmaceuticals is not derived from cell lines from aborted foetuses. The cell lines used to produce this vaccine are chick embryo fibroblasts derived from specific pathogen-free hen eggs.