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Bird Flu Vaccine Trials 'Encouraging'

Vaccine could also protect against other flu strains

January 4, 2008

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Scientists looking for a silver bullet to stop a potential "bird" flu pandemic say they may have scored a breakthrough, developing a vaccine that should protect against all strains of the influenza virus responsible for pandemic outbreaks.

Acambis, the British drug company that developed the vaccine, says it has shown encouraging results in its first human trials.

The drug, ACAM-FLU-A, is a recombinant vaccine linked to a Hepatitis B core protein. It targets M2e, a conserved region of all influenza 'A' strains.

This approach, the company says, could overcome the need for annual vaccine reformulations and, since all pandemic influenza strains are type 'A', it could also be a potential vaccine against pandemics.

The Phase 1 trial of ACAM-FLU-A evaluated the vaccine's safety and ability to generate an immune response. The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at multiple centers in the US and involved 79 subjects.

The trial results demonstrate that ACAM-FLU-A is well tolerated and immunogenic. While immune responses were seen in all vaccinated groups, the highest immune responses occurred in the group vaccinated with ACAM-FLU-A plus QS-21, the company said.

In parallel with the Phase 1 trial, Acambis has conducted a pre-clinical study to test whether an M2e-based vaccine could protect against the Vietnam 2004 strain(1) of H5N1 avian influenza (bird flu).

The H5N1 virus was lethal in the placebo-treated group, whereas 70 percent of those in the group vaccinated with the M2e-based vaccine from the same influenza strain were protected.

"We are very excited about these new data and believe that this highly innovative vaccine could be very attractive in such a competitive field. We will explore partnering in parallel with continued development of ACAM-FLU-A," said Ian Garland, Acambis' CEO.

Influenza is a major global threat, which the WHO estimates causes between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths every year around the world. Currently, influenza vaccines are reformulated each year to address virus mutations.

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