Sanofi Pasteur, Xiamen University To Develop Universal Flu Vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur and Xiamen University in China have agreed to jointly develop a universal flu vaccine.

AsianScientist (Apr. 8, 2013) – French biotech giant Sanofi Pasteur announced on Thursday a new collaboration with Xiamen University in China to develop a universal flu vaccine.

The National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in infectious diseases (NIDVD) of Xiamen University, China, and Sanofi Pasteur signed a formal Partnership Agreement that outlines early research and related immunological studies toward the development of a universal influenza vaccine candidate.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi Pasteur will explore the potential of Xiamen University’s monoclonal antibody (mAb) identification technology.

In the past week, an outbreak of a rare H7N9 bird flu virus subtype in China led to 21 laboratory confirmed human infections, including six deaths. The H7N9 bird flu virus has not been seen in humans before, and there are currently no vaccines available for this subtype of the virus.

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Source: Sanofi Pasteur.
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