Flu Research Update:
Powerful New Inventions Get Shot In Arm
by Julie E. Williamson

It appears that healthcare providers and the general community have real reason to be optimistic about the future of influenza prevention. That’s because the pharmaceutical and research sectors are inching significantly closer to providing innovative vaccines and technologies aimed at tackling the all-too-common illness.

Although the new products are not yet available for use, studies underscoring their success in clinical trials may indicate they could be on the horizon – and may even play a pivotal role in preventing the pandemic flu that has many health agencies, including the World Health Organization, so concerned.

In October, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis issued a statement claiming success in a phase 3 clinical trial of a seasonal influenza vaccine produced in cell culture rather than in eggs, the conventional production method. Cell culture is considered a slightly faster and considerably more flexible production technology than the egg-based method.

Novartis revealed that the 2,654 volunteers who received one dose of the vaccine had at least as strong an immune response as those immunized with an egg-based vaccine containing the same flu virus strains. While numerous pharmaceutical companies have been working on cell-based production, to date, no cell-based flu vaccine has been licensed.
“Novartis is committed to bringing cell culture-derived influenza vaccine to market,” noted company CEO Jorg Reinhardt in the news release.

Positive vaccine news surrounding the deadly and dreaded 1918 Spanish Flu also surfaced in October, offering hope that immunization against the virus is indeed possible. Government researchers reported that they have developed a vaccine that protects mice from the 1918 flu virus. According to the report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research team, led by Gary Nabel, Ph.D., of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, created a vaccine using a piece of DNA from the 1918 virus, called H1N1. Mice that were injected with the vaccine and later exposed to the 1918 virus all survived. The virus earned its name from the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-19 that killed up to 100 million people worldwide. In recent years, scientists have reconstructed the 1918 virus by analyzing samples from frozen bodies of flu victims in Alaska from an Army collection of autopsy specimens. The evaluated its effect on mice to determine why the strain was so lethal.

To determine how the vaccine protected the mice, the team depleted one group of vaccinated mice of T-cells and then does them with the virus. Each mouse in this group survived. Then the team transferred antibodies, in the form of purified immunoglobulin-G, from vaccinated mice into unvaccinated ones and then exposed the latter to the virus. Eight of ten of these mice survived, as opposed to those that received Ig-G from an unvaccinated control group that died.

According to Dr. Nabel, the study showed that antibodies confer all of the protection against the virus. The study article pointed out that as in mice, immunity in humans would likely depend on antibodies, but e possibility of a role for cellular immunity in humans can’t be excluded.

Beyond Vaccines
Vaccination may be a tried-and-true approach to influenza prevention, but other advancements are deservedly capturing some of the spotlight.

Laboratory testing of a novel, permanent nano-coating, developed in collaboration by researchers at North Carolina State University College of Textiles and Emory University School of Medicine, has been shown to kill or inactivate most viruses and bacteria when exposed to visible light. Early tests have revealed that the coating kills 99.9 percent of influenza viruses and 99.99 percent of vaccinia virus, which causes rash, fever, head and body aches.

NC State has moved to patent the invention, which has been licensed to the Research Triangle Park-based start-up LaamScience Inc. LaamScience has raised more than $400,000 in seed financing from North Carolina angel investors that will enable it to optimize the coating and begin developing product prototypes. Such prototypes will be used in performance trials targeting hospital areas, such as waiting rooms. The company is also developing a room air purifier that incorporates the nano-coated filter technology.

“We have many exciting opportunities to use these proprietary coatings to stop infection before it causes disease and death,” noted Tom Roberg, chief executive officer of LaamScience, in a NC State University press release. “The technology developed at NC State and Emory University provides a huge opportunity to impact the health and welfare of people throughout the world.”

Other potential applications for the technology include anti-viral filter systems for airplanes and businesses, and also anti-viral masks for military first-responders. What’s more, the technology may even be capable of making everyday objects resistant to viruses and bacteria in the presence of light.

“The potential uses for this technology are unlimited,” said Dr. Patrick Mize, LaamScience’s chief science officer. “These are applications that can change the world.”

Julie Williamson has been covering key issues in the medical equipment industry for OR Today for over six years. She can be reached for questions and/or comments by email at info@mdpublishing.com.