The Food and Drug Administration has approved FluLaval, a new seasonal influenza vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc.

The FDA’s approval of FluLaval on Thursday boosts the country’s expected flu vaccine supply for the 2006-07 influenza season to about 115 million doses.

FluLaval, which joins four other FDA-approved seasonal flu vaccines, is for use in people 18 and older, except those who are allergic to eggs and chicken proteins.

With a wholesale price of about $10 a dose, FluLaval was licensed under the FDA’s accelerated approval program.

GlaxoSmithKline, which also makes flu vaccine Fluarix, added FluLaval to its vaccine portfolio when it acquired ID Biomedical Corp., a Quebec, Canada, manufacturer, in December. GlaxoSmithKline of Research Triangle Park, N.C., will distribute FluLaval.

The company expects to produce between 25 million to 27 million flu vaccine doses this season, said Jennifer Armstrong, a company spokeswoman.

“We are expanding our seasonal flu vaccine offerings to include FluLaval, and we are investing heavily in new technologies and facilities to develop tomorrow’s vaccines to protect people from both seasonal and pandemic flu,” said Chris Viehbacher, president of U.S. Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline.

Other flu vaccine suppliers are Sanofi Pasteur, which makes Fluzone; MedImmune Vaccines, which makes FluMist, a nasal spray vaccine; and Novartis Vaccine, which makes Fluvirin.