China Begins Human Trials of Flu Vaccine

China has begun human trials of its homegrown bird flu vaccine with six volunteers receiving shots. The trials have been approved by the Chinese State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).

A total of 120 people, aged 18-60, all in good health, volunteered to take part in the trials. The experimental vaccine, called Panflu, is being developed by ). Sinovac specializes in the research, development, and sale of human vaccines for infectious illnesses such as hepatitis A and B, influenza, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Sinovac is the first and currently the only company in the world to have been granted permission to begin clinical trials in China for a vaccine to prevent SARS, stated the company.

Preclinical trial results demonstrated that Sinovac's pandemic vaccine safely induces a high-quality immune response in animals. The clinical trials will further examine safety and immunogenicity in humans to establish the ideal dosage and immunization schedule. Once initiated, the trial is expected to take about three months to complete preliminary testing of the first clinical stage. There have been 139 confirmed human cases of H5N1 avian flu to date in Asia, including six in China.

Currently, the Tamiflu of Roche Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) is one of four drugs known to work against influenza. It does not cure the virus but can reduce the severity of infection and in some cases prevent infection. Doctors believe it may help control a pandemic of H5N1, although evidence suggests it may be less effective for H5N1 than it is against seasonal influenza.




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