It's the first bird-flu vaccine that's made from cells grown in the lab, instead of from chicken eggs. And researchers say it shows some promise in blocking the deadly virus.
They're outlining the results of mid-stage testing on the Baxter vaccine (Celvapan). They say the testing showed that two shots produce an immune response that would be considered strong enough to protect three-quarters of healthy adults from the bird-flu strain that it targets, and also from a related strain.
It also appears to protect 45 percent of adults from a third strain, from Indonesia.
That's good news for health officials trying to prepare in case of a pandemic. But it also provides a way to make shots for seasonal flu much faster.
So, health officials could be getting extra time to match the annual shots to the type of flu strain that is circulating.
Results of the study are reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
%@AP Links
CUT 307 (06/11/08)>> 00:09 "28 weeks"
Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, head of research and development, Baxter Bioscience, and author of vaccine study
Baxter Bioscience research director Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, the lead author of the vaccine study, says producing vaccine from lab-grown cells is much faster than using chicken eggs.
CUT 308 (06/11/08)>> 00:13 "cell culture"
Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, head of research and development, Baxter Bioscience, and author of vaccine study
Baxter Bioscience research director Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, the lead author of the vaccine study, says the technique has long been considered preferable, but it required years of development to make it practical.
CUT 309 (06/11/08)>> 00:08 "is necessary"
Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, head of research and development, Baxter Bioscience, and author of vaccine study
Baxter Bioscience research director Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, the lead author of the vaccine study, says the ability to produce vaccine quicker makes it easier to target more strains.
CUT 310 (06/11/08)>> 00:07 "of viruses"
Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, head of research and development, Baxter Bioscience, and author of vaccine study
Baxter Bioscience research director Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, the lead author of the vaccine study, says the vaccine produced the desired immune response for more than just the H5N1 strain of bird flu that was targeted.
CUT 311 (06/11/08)>> 00:07 "influenza vaccines"
Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, head of research and development, Baxter Bioscience, and author of vaccine study
Baxter Bioscience research director Doctor Hartmut Ehrlich, the lead author of the vaccine study, says the success of this vaccine will lead to much more progress by vaccine makers, who are already doing further research.
On the Net:
New England Journal: http://www.nejm.org
U.S. Health and Human Services : http://www.pandemicflu.gov