French H5N1 bird flu vaccine clears phase I test hurdle

A prototype French vaccine against H5N1 bird flu has been found to be safe and effective in initial tests on several hundred volunteers, according to a study published online Thursday by the British journal The Lancet.

The Sanofi Pasteur vaccine, based on a modified strain of the virus, produced protective antibodies in a phase I trial involving 300 healthy volunteers, and was well tolerated with only a few cases of severe reactions, it said.

The hope is that these vaccines, if stockpiled, may provide some protection against a pandemic strain and help brake an outbreak. They could also be swiftly adjusted to cope with the pandemic strain once it is identified, it is hoped.

In a commentary also carried out by The Lancet, two US flu experts, Suryaprakash Sambhara and Gregory Poland, cautioned that no-one knows for sure whether the pre-pandemic vaccines will provide any shield. And, they noted, the Sanofi Pasteur vaccine has a drawback because it is a two-dose formula. This limits the number of doses that can be stockpiled because of the constraints on global manufacturing capacity.

Source: ADVFN: French H5N1 bird flu vaccine clears phase I test hurdle

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