Sanofi-Aventis pre-pandemic flu vaccine safe

Sanofi-Aventis has released the preliminary trial results for its influenza vaccine that show it is safe and well tolerated.

The work carried out by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine business of the Sanofi-Aventis group, was on the drug H5N1 and demonstrated a good immune response in a significant number of volunteers.

The trial also showed there were immune responses in people who took lower doses, which future trials will explore and which could be helpful when dealing with the widely discussed question of dose-sparing.

The data is now to be submitted the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medical Products (EMEA) and follow-up studies will focus on using the vaccine on a large scale, mimicking a pandemic.

In the area of preparing for a flu pandemic Sanofi Pasteur is expanding its production capacity in the US and France and has agreed with the French government to stockpile 1.4 million doses of H5N1.

The World Health Organisation has estimated the effect of a worldwide influenza pandemic on industrialised nations would be as many as 650,000 deaths and 2.3 million hospitalisations.

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