| ■ Company Seeks Approval to Test Needle-Free Bird Flu Vaccine | 06.07.12 |
| A British company called PowderMed has applied for approval to conduct the first trial in Britain of a needle-free bird flu vaccine. The Oxford-based company has asked for permission to test its H5N1 vaccine on 75 volunteers at a hospital in London, The Times of London, reported. The vaccine would be administered using a needle-free system. Helium is used to propel particles coated in the section of DNA needed to make haemagglutinin protein (the H5 in H5N1) into the skin. This trial is designed to determine the correct dose to produce an immune response to protect against H5N1. The company would be able to create a new vaccine in about 10 weeks, which is much quicker than traditional vaccines developed in chicken eggs, said John Beadle, PowderMed's chief medical officer, told The Times. This new H5 vaccine could be licensed within the next two years, he said. |