US Vaccine Developed - H5N1 Captain Trips?
Government scientists say they have successfully tested in people a vaccine that they believe can protect against the strain of avian influenza that is spreading in birds through Asia and Russia.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, said "We don't have all the vaccine we need to meet the possible demand. The critical issue now is, 'Can we make enough vaccine, given the well-known inability of the vaccine industry to make enough vaccine.'
Because the vaccine is made in chicken eggs, "a potential major stumbling block" to successful mass production is the number of eggs farmers can supply manufacturers, Dr. Fauci said.
Government researchers and others developed the vaccine, which is produced by Sanofi-Pasteur, a French vaccine company that is now part of Aventis. Although cautioning that the vaccine has not been fully tested, Dr. Fauci said that the initial test findings have given the federal government enough confidence to start the process of adding millions more doses of the vaccine to the 2 million it has bought.
The United States is thought to be the only country that has produced a human vaccine against the A(H5N1) influenza strain. Australia, Canada, France and Japan are among countries where scientists are trying to develop human avian influenza vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr. Fauci's institute also contracted with Chiron, which is based in Emeryville, Calif. to make another A(H5N1) vaccine. But tests of the Chiron vaccine have not started because of delays related to prior contamination found in Chiron's plants.
Dr. Fauci said his institute has 8,000 doses of the Chiron human A(H5N1) vaccine and hopes to start testing it in volunteers in late fall. The tests will follow the same steps taken with the Sanofi-Pasteur vaccine, he said.
NY Times
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, said "We don't have all the vaccine we need to meet the possible demand. The critical issue now is, 'Can we make enough vaccine, given the well-known inability of the vaccine industry to make enough vaccine.'
Because the vaccine is made in chicken eggs, "a potential major stumbling block" to successful mass production is the number of eggs farmers can supply manufacturers, Dr. Fauci said.
Government researchers and others developed the vaccine, which is produced by Sanofi-Pasteur, a French vaccine company that is now part of Aventis. Although cautioning that the vaccine has not been fully tested, Dr. Fauci said that the initial test findings have given the federal government enough confidence to start the process of adding millions more doses of the vaccine to the 2 million it has bought.
The United States is thought to be the only country that has produced a human vaccine against the A(H5N1) influenza strain. Australia, Canada, France and Japan are among countries where scientists are trying to develop human avian influenza vaccines, according to the World Health Organization.
Dr. Fauci's institute also contracted with Chiron, which is based in Emeryville, Calif. to make another A(H5N1) vaccine. But tests of the Chiron vaccine have not started because of delays related to prior contamination found in Chiron's plants.
Dr. Fauci said his institute has 8,000 doses of the Chiron human A(H5N1) vaccine and hopes to start testing it in volunteers in late fall. The tests will follow the same steps taken with the Sanofi-Pasteur vaccine, he said.
NY Times
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