Boost for Production of Bird Flu Vaccine
Vaccines against bird flu could be more widely available, should a pandemic occur, now that researchers have formulated a way to extend the use of present stocks. When the vaccine is combined with a specialised solution, say the researchers, it performs six times more effectively. Consequently, it can be administered at a much lower dosage.
The research was undertaken by a Belgian-based team, who detailed their findings to The Lancet, the medical journal. Describing the findings obtained as surprising but "very good news", they added that the vaccine would work on different forms of bird flu, including H5N1 subtypes of Vietnamese and Indonesian origin.
Vaccines against influenza are a prime component of the global directive to minimise the spread of avian flu should a pandemic break out, but huge amounts would theoretically be needed. Furthermore, the rapidity with which vaccines can be manufactured is constrained by the time needed to develop them.
The results of this new study could, however, allay current fears on both counts. The team of researchers discovered that, when the vaccine is immersed in an emulsion of water and oil (a so-called 'adjuvant'), its performance in humans is boosted significantly. The dose required for it to be effective was, they said, close to four times less than that employed in the present generation of influenza vaccines. The implication, therefore, is that more people could benefit from limited vaccine reserves.
On paper, the GSK-manufactured vaccine could be manufactured prior to the strain of bird flu, responsible for a pandemic, having been established.
The leader of the study was Ghent University's Professor Leroux-Roels, who stated a reduction in the dose of vaccines required was merely one of many similar strategies currently being analysed, pending a major outbreak of bird flu.
The results of the Belgian team's research were described by the London-based Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry's Professor John Oxford as very good news. He continued: "We were all very pleased to see the results, and very surprised that the adjuvant broadened the immune response and range of avian influenza viruses. The results exceeded expectations, but it's not crystal clear how the adjuvant works."
Two drug manufacturing firms - GSK and Baxter - have recently negotiated contracts with the UK government with a value of £155.4 million. Both will supply an influenza vaccine once the World Health Organisation has identified the strain of bird flu requiring immunisation against. The benefit of this, according to Professor Oxford, is that the UK would be the first country to benefit from the vaccine, in the "scramble" to immunize the world.
Source - Pharmaceutical International's Research and Development Analyst
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