Singapore, Sep 1, 2009: Melbourne based Australian pharmaceutical development company BioDiem Ltd announced that the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM), the originator of BioDiem’s Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine (LAIV) technology, has executed a development and collaboration agreement with PATH to develop a prototype pandemic LAIV for use in developing countries.

 

The aim of the agreement is to demonstrate that the cold–adapted master virus (A/Leningrad/134/17/57 -H2N2 type) bearing avian or human influenza virus genes from viruses with pandemic potential will be safe and produce an immune response in humans.

 

The development plan includes the generation of a set of live, attenuated cold–adapted virus vaccines against avian influenza subtypes with potential to cause a pandemic outbreak in humans. Preclinical studies of these vaccine candidates will be performed. Each candidate will be produced under internationally recognized Good Manufacturing Practice conditions for use in Good Laboratory Practice toxicology studies, leading to high quality materials suitable for evaluation of safety and potent immunity in future clinical studies.

 

Subject to IEM’s achievement of established milestones, PATH will provide financial and technical support to IEM and third party contractors to a maximum of US$3.6 million. Any development plan data will be available for use in developing countries under the World Health Organization’s Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply. 

 

Prof Larisa Rudenko, a director of BioDiem and head of the Department of Virology at IEM, said “Our technology has the potential to provide a significant defence in the event of an influenza pandemic and we are delighted to be working with PATH.”

 

“We are pleased to be working with the Institute of Experimental Medicine to speed the development of live-attenuated influenza vaccines that can be a safe, low-cost, and highly effective method for enabling real-time response against an influenza pandemic. Our ultimate goal is to develop vaccines that can be accessible and affordable for people in low-resource countries, who may be hit hardest in a pandemic,” said Dr. Rick Bright, scientific director of PATH’s Influenza Vaccine Project.