Universal Flu Vaccince Under Testing

[Cpl Kendall]

CBC.CA

A small biotechnology company has begun human testing of a universal flu vaccine for the A strains of the virus, which if successful could eliminate the need for an annual flu shot.

Acambis PLC said Tuesday that it began tests on 80 healthy U.S. subjects to assess the safety, tolerability and ability to generate an immune response from the vaccine.

Results could be available late this year, the company said.

Unlike current vaccines, which have to be re-engineered each year to deal with new strains of the flu — which means people need a new needle every year — a universal vaccine could provide "broad and lifelong protection, like the vaccines we have for polio, hepatitis B or measles," the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology said Tuesday.

The Belgian institute, known by its acronym VIB, is affiliated with the University of Ghent. Walter Fiers, emeritus professor of molecular biology at the university, invented the vaccine and VIB licensed the technology to Acambis, a company with offices in Britain and the U.S.

The vaccine works by delivering a protein called M2, which elicits an immune response from subjects. M2 remains unchanged in all flu strains, and in animal tests, "the M2 vaccine provided total protection against A strains of flu, without side-effects," VIB said in a release.


If the vaccine works in the Phase 1 trials and then subsequently passes the Phase 2 and 3 advanced tests, it has huge potential, the company said. It could become "a universal pandemic influenza vaccine and part of a universal seasonal vaccine."

A universal vaccine would enable governments to create stockpiles, which is difficult now because vaccines have to be re-engineered each year as the flu virus mutates.

"It could be stockpiled in advance of a pandemic or potentially used routinely to ensure population protection against future pandemics," said Dr. Michael Watson, executive vice-president of R&D for Acambis.

Type A influenza viruses are more severe, and can cause flu pandemics. Type B strains cause seasonal cases.

Definetly good news. This along with the HPV vaccine is something I'm planning on getting for my kids.