28 Jul FluGen begins clinical trial on universal influenza vaccine
By Kathleen Gallagher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
FluGen, a Madison biotechnology company that is developing flu vaccines, said Wednesday it has begun a clinical trial of its RedeeFlu universal influenza vaccine.
The trial involves 96 healthy adult subjects between the ages of 18 and 49. It will evaluate the safety of the vaccine and the antibody and T-cell responses it prompts. The vaccine has in animals induced robust antibody and cellular immune responses without producing any infectious virus particles, the company says.
“We believe that Redeeflu could be the first influenza vaccine to show robust protection from drifted or mismatched flu strains,” said Paul Radspinner, the company’s president and chief executive officer.
During the past two flu seasons, questions were raised about the efficacy of the vaccines, FluGen said. The new vaccine could meet a “significant global health need,” said Dan Stinchcomb, FluGen’s executive chairman. Read more …