Novavax begins pre-clinical testing for new avian flu drug

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., July 31 - Novavax, Inc. said its scientists have succeeded in making a vaccine candidate designed to protect against the H5N1 clade 2 influenza virus and has started pre-clinical testing.

"We believe this is the first vaccine to be made that targets the H5N1 clade 2 virus isolated from people in Indonesia who have been infected with this mutated version of avian influenza," president and chief executive officer Rahul Singhvi said in a news release.

"This is a very significant milestone for Novavax and our proprietary virus-like particle vaccine technology. This demonstrates how rapidly we can respond by making a vaccine to protect against emerging pathogens worldwide, compared to older egg-based manufacturing methods."

Global public health experts maintain that due to H5N1's rapidly mutating nature, multiple vaccines will be needed to protect against the many variations of the virus.

The H5N1 vaccines currently in clinical trials by many manufacturers and being stockpiled around the world target only the clade 1 family of the virus, the release said.

Novavax is a pharmaceutical company based in Malvern, Pa.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.