Update on the Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccine

Just when I was about to provide an update on progress in developing a Swine Flu (H1N1 virus) vaccine, Novartis, Germany made their big announcement that the first batch of vaccine has been produced, weeks ahead of schedule. Ten litres of the vaccine were made using cell-based techniques, instead of the traditional chicken egg technique that I described in a previous blog. According to their press release, the company will be able to produce millions of doses of vaccine per week, and order have been flooding in from all over the world. Unfortunately, the vaccine still needs testing, and is only at the pre-clinical stage. The 10 L batch will be used for testing, possibly including clinical trials on humans. Other Novartis labs are working on vaccine production using the egg-based technique.

The good news comes the day after the World Health Organization declared this flu outbreak a Level 6 Pandemic. Novartis stocks have jumped by over 4% today.