NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Drugmakers hope to prevent severe shortages of flu vaccines this year, but there could still be higher prices for shots in the coming season, according to a published report.

Chiron Corp. (Research) said Wednesday it expected to be able to make between 25 million and 30 million doses of Fluvirin vaccine for the 2005-06 flu season, although it still needs approval of health regulators in England and the United States.

Last year, quality problems at the company's UK plant that made the drug forced it to pull all 48 million doses it had intended to sell, resulting in a shortage of shots.

Meanwhile, USA Today reported Thursday that French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (Research), the only flu-shot vaccine supplier with FDA approval for the just-completed season, raised list prices about 17 percent for the upcoming year, after leaving prices unchanged last year.

Some doctors' orders from Sanofi-Aventis have been wait-listed, company spokesman John Abrams told USA Today. Sanofi-Aventis provided about half the nation's flu shot supply before the problems at Chiron.

Shots are likely to cost about $25 in the 2005-06 season, up 25 percent from the $20 price last year, Steve Wright, national director of wellness services for Maxim Health Systems, told USA Today.

The paper also reports that GlaxoSmithKline (Research) hopes to provide 7 million to 10 million doses of flu vaccine if the FDA approves its application, which the British drugmaker expects to submit to the regulators next month.

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