Europeans join forces to develop a new pandemic flu vaccine

A consortium of European experts in the field of human virus research and vaccine development have joined forces to develop a novel pandemic influenza vaccine as a potential emergency vaccination.

The four-year project has been awarded a grant of EUR3.5m from the European Union to help fund the research and the development of the new vaccine. The so-called FluVac project will be coordinated by Nobilon International BV which is part of Organon, the human healthcare business unit of Akzo Nobel.

“In the event of an influenza pandemic, vaccination will play a key role in its control. Therefore, availability of a sufficient number of vaccine doses will be critical. In this project, we will exploit the potency of the adjuvant to potentiate immunity and to reduce the antigen dose required per vaccination.

Dr. Luuk Hilgers, scientific coordinator for the project on behalf of Nobilon

The recent epidemic of a new pathogenic strain of H5N1 influenza in birds in Asia has fuelled further concerns about a potential pandemic influenza outbreak. In the event of an influenza pandemic, large quantities of a highly effective vaccine will be needed on short notice. A European consortium consisting of experts from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Iceland has agreed to collaborate on the development of such a vaccine.

Dr. Luuk Hilgers, scientific coordinator for the project on behalf of Nobilon, commented: "In the event of an influenza pandemic, vaccination will play a key role in its control. Therefore, availability of a sufficient number of vaccine doses will be critical. In this project, we will exploit the potency of the adjuvant to potentiate immunity and to reduce the antigen dose required per vaccination."