The First Flu Vaccine Grown on Human Cells was Developed in Twelve Weeks- Half the Time of Traditional Methods
Orange County, CA - March 22nd, 2018 -
The flu is currently ranked as one of the top ten causes of death each year. The 2017-2018 flu season was the worst on record with 166 flu outbreaks and more than 35 recorded deaths. Amy Aspelund is the head of research and development with Vivaldi Biosciences, a company based at the Research Innovation Center at Colorado State University. Her team is working to create a new flu vaccine, named deltaFLU, which can fight more strains of the flu and get to market quicker than current vaccines.
“We’re trying to work with the global community to make a vaccine that will ultimately benefit people,” said Aspelund. DeltaFLU is different from usual flu vaccinations because it is a nasal spray. So far, studies have shown deltaFLU offers broader protection against multiple different kinds of flu strains. The vaccination is also produced in a way that allows scientists to react faster to changes in flu strains or pandemic-like viruses. Traditionally, flu vaccines are grown on chicken eggs. Carrie Wick, a spokesman for Vivaldi Biosciences, noted that the chicken egg method has been the standard for 70 years and is a relatively fast and economical practice. However, vaccines produced by this method still take up to six months to develop.
DeltaFLU is the first tested vaccine grown on human cells. This process can develop a new vaccine in 12 weeks. This rapid adaptability can help in the event of a pandemic, but it can also help with the common flu as strains change every year and can be difficult to predict. Depending on the strain, licensed vaccines are generally effective only 40 to 60 percent of the time. “There’s a lot of room for improvement,” said Aspelund. The research team is working to make one universal flu vaccine- a vaccine that is effective against several different flu strains, not just one circulating at the current moment. “We have data in ferrets, soon to be humans, that our vaccine would be cross-protective,” said Wick.
With the wide coverage deltaFLU provides, patients would not need to get the flu shot as often as they are accustomed to. In clinical trials, the deltaFLU vaccine passed phase 1 and 2 which involved 245 adult volunteers. The studies proved the vaccine is safe and does produce an immune response. In a nonclinical study with ferrets, the vaccine showed broad cross-protection between distantly related flu strains. The CEO of Vivaldi Biosciences, Bill Wick, announced in a statement that Vivaldi is working on raising money to begin human trials. Trials of that nature are generally either privately funded or given by the government. If human trials are successful, the team will then move to the next phase.
For now, Vivaldi Biosciences plans to present their data findings at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 4.
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The First Flu Vaccine Grown on Human Cells was Developed in Twelve Weeks- Half the Time of Traditional Methods Orange County, CA – March 22nd, 2018 – The flu is currently ranked as one of the top ten causes of death each year. The 2017-2018 flu season was the worst on record with 166 flu outbreaks […]