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Intranasal seasonal flu vaccine begins Phase II

14-Jan-2010

Related topics: Regulatory & Safety

Avir Green Hills AG has begun Phase II trials of deltaFLU, its intranasal, seasonal influenza vaccine, which it believes is easier to administer and more effective than traditional treatments.

The vaccine is produced in vero cells, allowing for automated production in bioreactors and simplifying scale up, according to Avir. The ease of scale up will allow Avir to modify production output inline with demand.

 

In addition, in deltaFLU the pathogenicity factor NS1 is deleted, resulting in the vaccine viruses being unable to replicate. Performing this step makes the vaccine very safe, according to Avir.

 

Austria-based Avir will conduct the Phase II trial at the Medical University of Vienna.