Chiron Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIR) today announced that it has initiated a Phase I/II study of an investigational cell culture-derived influenza vaccine in the United States. Cell culture-derived influenza vaccine (commonly referred to as “flu cell culture” vaccine) represents the next generation of influenza vaccine, both for annual vaccine production and for long-term pandemic preparedness. Production of influenza vaccine using cell-culture technology may offer significant advantages over traditional manufacturing methods by eliminating the dependence on chicken eggs for production. The removal of egg supply lead times would enable flexible and faster start-up of vaccine production in the event of an annual vaccine supply shortfall or an avian influenza pandemic. The company has also completed enrollment of a second Phase III study of investigational flu cell culture vaccine in Europe. A first pivotal Phase III study of flu cell culture vaccine in Europe, conducted in 2004, met the safety and immunogenicity endpoints of the study.
