Sanofi Pasteur starts “new generation” influenza vaccine trials

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines arm of Sanofi-Aventis, has announced the launch of the first clinical trial for a “new generation” of seasonal influenza vaccines, manufactured using cell culture technology.

The company intends to recruit 100 patients aged between 18 and 64 for a phase I trial, which could help to “accelerate” the development of the drug.

Half of the subjects in the study will be given the new cell culture-based vaccine, while the other half will receive a traditional egg-based vaccine. The two groups will then be compared to assess the safety of the new vaccine, while also providing data on how effective it is in generating an immune response.

Sanofi-Pasteur’s vaccine technology has been in-licensed from Crucell, a Dutch biotechnology company. The company said it hopes that the new technology will diminish the dependence on eggs during the manufacturing process.

A previous production run using the new technology successfully demonstrated the manufacture of 20,000 litres worth of vaccine, achieved in a partnership with Lonza Biologics.

Dennis Morrison, clinical investigator of Bio-Kinetic Clinical Applications, said cell culture-based vaccines could provide an “important alternative” to traditional egg-based flu vaccines.

In July, Novartis announced it had submitted the first cell culture-derived influenza vaccine to the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.