Acambis develops permanent protection against flu

Vaccine maker Acambis has started development of a new influenza vaccine that could offer permanent protection against influenza and offer protection against influenza pandemics.

Acambis, which has bases in Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, has begun a research collaboration and licensing agreement with Belgium-based Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) to develop a more permanent vaccine.

The aim is to generate a 'universal' vaccine candidate that would protect against both A and B strains of influenza and, more importantly, would not require annual changes to the formulation. This contrasts with current influenza vaccines that need to be changed regularly to cope with mutations that occur in influenza strains circulating in nature, as well as major genetic shifts that can result in influenza pandemics.

The project will use Acambis' influenza A vaccine candidate acquired from US-based Apovia earlier in the year as well as technology licensed from VIB. The initial vaccine candidate against influenza A is in pre-clinical development.

Gordon Cameron, Acambis ceo, said: 'The recent influenza vaccine shortages have highlighted the inadequacies of current influenza vaccines and their manufacturing methods. Through our influenza A vaccine candidate, we aim to improve protection against influenza A and to ensure a ready supply of vaccine. The VIB collaboration gives us the opportunity to develop the ultimate influenza vaccine that will protect against all strains of influenza, reduces the need for annual vaccine re-engineering and can be produced using scalable cell culture-based manufacturing methods.'