UK a step closer to new swine flu vaccine
pharmafile | May 11, 2009 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â NHS, h1n1Â
The first step towards producing a European prototype of a swine flu vaccine has been achieved by the UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA).
Health secretary Alan Johnson said researchers have sequenced the full genetic code of the virus, which is critical to understanding how it operates and identifying the parts that can be used in vaccine manufacture.
He made the announcement after a visit to the HPA's National Institute of Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) – the only centre in the UK and one of a handful around the world developing prototypes for Europe's manufacturers.
Johnson said: "The speed with which vaccine prototypes can be created to combat potential pandemics is testimony to the dedication and world-class expertise of Health Protection Agency researchers.
"We have been preparing for the possibility of a pandemic for some time. We now look to the vaccine industry to produce the required quantities of vaccine as quickly as possible."
The steps towards a new vaccine will be to make an 'isolate' in embryonated hens' eggs and develop from this a virus that can grow well in eggs. For seasonal influenza viruses this process would normally take a few months from isolation to a vaccine.
UK researchers hope European manufacturers will take on the candidate vaccine prototypes when complete in the coming months so mass vaccine production can begin.
In 2007, the UK government signed advanced supply agreements to enable it to purchase up to 132 million doses of the pandemic specific vaccine when it becomes available.
The agreements are worth £155.4 million over four years. GSK and Baxter are committed to supplying a pandemic influenza vaccine as soon as the strain is identified and made available by the World Health Organization.
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