Project would accelerate development of bird flu vaccine for humans

Drugmaker Sinergium Biotech, based in Argentina, will lead a project to accelerate the development of a human vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the World Health Organization and the Medicines Patent Pool on Monday. The project is aimed at pharmaceutical companies in low- and middle-income nations and intended to bolster pandemic preparedness worldwide.

Sinergium Biotech has developed H5N1 candidate vaccines, said the WHO. Once the company has established proof-of-concept, the technology, materials, and expertise will be transferred to manufacturing partners.

“This initiative exemplifies why WHO established the mRNA Technology Transfer Program – to foster greater research, development, and production in low- and middle-income countries, so that when the next pandemic arrives, the world will be better prepared to mount a more effective and more equitable response,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s director-general.

In early July, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded a $176 million contract to Moderna for the development of an mRNA-based vaccine against bird flu. The CDC says the risk to the general public from the disease is low.