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GlaxoSmithKline Claims Bird Flu Breaththrough

Company Says It Has Developed A Vaccine

July 26, 2006

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A major pharmaceutical company has reportedly developed a vaccine that it believes can be an effective tool for treating a potential pandemic of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

The BBC reports British-based GlaxoSmithKline expects to have the vaccine ready for mass production next year.

The company has not yet released information about the vaccine, but the British network reports it has proved effective in the smallest of doses.

Small doses are key, the BBC reported, since it allows the maximum number of inoculations from a fixed quantity of vaccine.

"GSK's two H5N1 flu vaccines went into clinical trials in Germany in March 2006 and will help the company to develop a vaccine against a pandemic-causing flu strain more quickly. Preliminary results from these clinical trials were released in July 2006 and a pandemic flu vaccine could be in production by the end of the year," the company said in a statement on its Web site.

French drug maker Sanofi is also said to be close to achieving an effective vaccine.

Experts believe more than 200 million birds have been infected with the virus, mostly in Asia.

So far, there have been 233 known cases of the H5N1 virus among humans since 2003. Of that number, 133 have been fatal, causing world health professionals to worry that the virus would be catastrophic if it should become a pandemic.

While health experts say vaccine developments are encouraging, it is impossible at this point to produce a completely effective vaccine, since the virus would almost certainly mutate as it achieved pandemic status. But they say a vaccine based on the existing H5N1 vaccine would at least provide some measure of protection.

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