Connecticut eyes Novartis flu vaccine allocation

BOSTON Oct 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. state of Connecticut has begun an investigation into Novartis (NOVN.VX) asking why the Swiss drugmaker planned to ship a state health body less seasonal flu vaccine than it had ordered.

Novartis has told the Connecticut branch of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America that it would supply it with 72 percent less flu vaccine than it had contracted to provide, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a press release.

That number is lower than Novartis' statements that its production is down by about 10 percent, Blumenthal said.

"The delivery disparity raises the specter of discriminatory distribution -- serious questions about whether Novartis may be purposefully filling other flu vaccine contracts at higher levels," Blumenthal said in a statement.

Novartis spokesmen had no immediate comment. (Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston, additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York)