VaxInnate Corporation today reported positive preclinical results for a recombinant swine flu vaccine it developed in less than three weeks, making it one of the first companies in the world to begin testing a vaccine that could help halt the spread of the swine flu pandemic. Preclinical studies in mice suggest that VaxInnate’s recombinant swine flu vaccine could provide protection against the pandemic H1N1 influenza A swine flu strain, VaxInnate CEO Alan Shaw , PhD told attendees at the 7th Annual Biodefense Vaccines and Therapeutics meeting taking place here. Further preclinical testing of the vaccine is already underway.

“Using our novel vaccine technology, VaxInnate was able to rapidly develop and begin testing a vaccine that could be a useful weapon against the pandemic flu,” Dr. Shaw said. “We’re encouraged by our results to date and are moving forward with further preclinical testing.

“In doing so, VaxInnate is hoping to partner with the U.S. government on further development of our swine flu vaccine,” he added. “The federally-funded vaccine technologies in development cannot produce vaccines as rapidly and efficiently as VaxInnate can, and we want the opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities.”

Dr. Shaw said VaxInnate is also seeking international partners for the development of this and other pandemic vaccines to meet global needs. VaxInnate’s announcement comes less than a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years.

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Sanofi-aventis, a French global healthcare company that makes vaccines announced on Wednesday that it will be giving the World Health Organization (WHO) 100 million doses of vaccine for H1N1 swine flu so it can distribute them to the countries that most need them. Sanofi-aventis Chief Executive Officer Christopher A Viehbacher told the opening session of the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle, Washington that he wanted to back WHO Director General’s call for common action.

“Exceptional times require exceptional responses. We need to act responsibly and we all have to play our part,” said Viehbacher.

“That is the reason why we intend to donate 100 million doses of influenza vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) to help developing countries face the influenza pandemic,” he added.

Although the WHO says it has now received reports of nearly 40,000 worldwide lab-confirmed cases of novel A(H1N1) swine flu, including 167 deaths, and has raised the status level to phase 6, indicating global pandemic, the organization has not yet said anything about who should get vaccinated.

Also, because this strain has not infected people before, it is not clear if one or two doses will be needed to achieve full immunization.

Vaccine producers are just coming to the end of producing seasonal flu vaccine, after which they will start making vaccine against the new swine flu virus. It will be several weeks before the first batches are ready, which is probably too late for countries in the southern hemisphere who are about to enter the height of their annual flu season.

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A flurry of news reports today claim that Brazilian researchers have found a “new” strain of the novel H1N1 virus, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says this is inaccurate.Brazilian researchers from the Adolfo Lutz Bacteriological Institute…

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The U.S. House of Representatives last night approved $7.65 billion in new money to respond to the swine flu pandemic. The money will go toward the purchase of vaccine, antiviral drugs, and other medical needs. Congress also stipulated that the…

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(ChinaPost.com.tw) – The Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday that the government is looking to swiftly bolster vaccine supply in response to the growing number of swine flu cases in Taiwan.

Shih Wen-yi, spokesman for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), noted that the CDC plans to purchase 10 million A(H1N1) vaccines in order to stave off the possibility of an occurrence of massive infections later this year during the flu season.

The CDC is also purchasing five million seasonal flu shots, Shih said.

According to data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global pharmaceutical industry has an annual influenza vaccine production capacity of 4.9 billion doses.

But the figure still pales in comparison to the 6.5 billion required to meet the world demand.

Another three new A(H1N1) infections, including one that is indigenous to Taiwan, have been confirmed, Shih said.

This put the current tally of confirmed cases at 58, with two contracted locally.

Shih added that the initial eruption of the disease evolving into widespread transmission takes approximately three to six months.

This period is critical to the replenishing of inoculation supply, he said.

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Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research at the University of Warwick funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu. As the World Health Organization declares a pandemic global H1N1 swine flu, countries are looking at measures to control the spread of the disease. These measures include the use of antiviral treatment, social distancing (for example, closing schools and stopping public transport) and quarantining infected individuals.

Pharmaceutical companies have also stepped up production of vaccines effective against this particular strain of the virus. However, if the spread of the disease increases significantly in the autumn, as some scientists predict, it is unlikely that supplies of the new vaccine will be sufficient to vaccinate entire populations.

In research published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, Dr Thomas House and Professor Matt Keeling from the University of Warwick’s Department of Biological Sciences have used computer modelling to predict the spread of pandemic influenza and to look at ways of controlling it effectively, particularly where supplies of vaccine are not sufficient for universal coverage.

The researchers showed that, as might be expected, the disease is likely to spread fastest in densely-populated conurbations, suggesting that these should be priority areas for tackling the spread. However, they showed that vaccinating entire households at random was an inefficient use of resources; instead, vaccinating key individuals offered sufficient protection to others in their household.

Although a simplification of the complex reality of pandemic flu transmission, the researchers believe their model provides a robust argument for vaccinating children.

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As panic surrounding the spread of swine flu heightens following the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global pandemic, many may be fooling themselves into believing that their state or national border can provide protection from the virus, based on new research from NYU Stern on people’s tendency to treat arbitrary political boundaries as safeguards.

In one of their studies, Stern Marketing Professor Justin Kruger, recent Stern Marketing PhD graduate Jeff Galak (now of Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business) and Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania, presented participants with a scenario in which a potentially hazardous industrial site or nuclear plant was being built near their home. They found that participants were less concerned about the potential health hazards if they were “protected” by a state or national border, even though that political border provided no physical barrier.

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By Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

Flu can be especially dangerous in pregnant women, especially during the third trimester. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization recently warned that pregnancy may be a risk factor for contracting H1N1 swine flu, which has reached pandemic levels. According to the CDC, there have been 20 recent H1N1 infections in pregnant women in the United States (15 probably cases and five confirmed cases). Of those, three women were hospitalized and one died. A woman’s immune system is somewhat weaker during pregnancy. That means those who become infected with flu are more likely to develop serious complications, like pneumonia.

The medications Tamiflu and Relenza are relatively safe for use in pregnant and breast-feeding women, according to an analysis from the top research group in the world on pregnancy and toxic exposures.

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By Trista Kelley and Albertina Torsoli, Bloomberg

Sanofi-Aventis SA will donate 100 million doses of swine-flu vaccine to the World Health Organization.

Once production of a vaccine begins, Sanofi will reserve 10 percent of output for the donations, the Paris-based company said today in a statement. The donation will help ensure that the poorest countries have access to the shots, Sanofi said.

“ It’s a call for collective action,” Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher said in a telephone interview from Seattle today. “We all have to play our part. It can’t be only the rich countries having access to the vaccines, in case of a pandemic.” GlaxoSmithKline Plc also plans to donate 50 million doses to the WHO, spokesman Stephen Rea said in an interview today.

The decisions by Sanofi and Glaxo contrast with that of Novartis AG, which said this week it wouldn’t donate the vaccine. The Basel, Switzerland-based company may look at pricing and other ways to assure access, spokesman Eric Althoff said today in a telephone interview. Donations won’t address the current pandemic or create sustainable access, Althoff said.

“In principle, I agree that you don’t want to rely on donations, they are not a sustainable model,” Viehbacher said. “But a pandemic is an exceptional event, it’s not on-going. We have to do what we can to help the WHO fight it.” The decision won’t affect Sanofi’s margins, he said.

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(ChinaPost.com.tw) – Academia Sinica President Wong Chi-huey said yesterday that he has discovered a way to develop and produce a “universal vaccine” that can protect against most influenza viruses.

Wong released the results of his research in a speech titled “Protein Glycosylation: New Challenges and Opportunities” delivered at the five-day 12th International Symposium of the Society of Chinese Bioscientists in America (SCBA), which opened at Academia Sinica Sunday.

The expert in bio-organic and synthetic chemistry and biocatalysis said his team found that once the glycoprotein the flu virus uses to cover its existence is removed, the human immune system can identify it and attack when the virus invades the body.

Wong explained that more than 50 percent of the proteins found in humans are glocosylated, which is why flu virus uses glycoprotein as a disguise.

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