Firms Battle Over Right To Sell Rabies Vaccine

WASHINGTON The rabies vaccine vital to thousands of Americansevery year is the object of a fierce battle between a pharmaceuticalgiant and a small Maryland company that contends a monopoly on thedrug could threaten lives.

"It's a very tangled web," said Dr. F. T. Satalowich of theNational Association of Public Health Veterinarians.

For years, the French company Pasteur Merieux was the onlysource of human rabies vaccine in this country. U.S. doctorscomplained that this situation more than tripled the drug's priceover the last six years from $30 to $100 a dose and sometimes causedshortages.

So when Merieux bought a company that was about to launch itsown …