AstraZeneca’s Fluenz Tetra receives CHMP backing

AstraZeneca has been granted a European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommendation for approval of its new flu vaccine product Fluenz Tetra.

The nasally administered four-strain live attenuated influenza vaccine has been recommended by the European Medicines Agency committee for the prevention of seasonal influenza in eligible children and adolescents aged between 24 months to 17 years old.

Developed in association with AstraZeneca's global biologics research and development arm MedImmune, the product has demonstrated its safety and immunogenicity in a pivotal paediatric study.

It contains two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B, whereas most seasonal flu vaccines only contain one influenza B strain.

Filip Dubovsky, vice-president of clinical biologics, infectious disease and vaccines at MedImmune, said: "The inclusion of two influenza B strains in the vaccine will provide broad protection and should help to reduce the overall incidence of influenza."

Last month, AstraZeneca agreed a deal for MedImmune to acquire Amplimmune, a US-based cancer immunology specialist.