Imugene and CSIRO start efficacy trial of bird flu vaccine

As reports emerge of a new avian influenza outbreak in Malaysia and rumours that pigs in China are now being infected with the virus herald a potential pandemic, Imugene (ASX: IMU) and CSIRO Livestock Industries have announced they will start an efficacy trial in coming weeks to evaluate their new avian influenza vaccine in chickens.

The vaccine uses Imugene's proprietary adenoviral vector delivery system to deliver the avian influenza H5 antigen to the chicken's immune system. The vaccine can be delivered to the chickens in drinking water, substantially reducing the cost of administration, according to Imugene CEO Warwick Lamb.

The trial will be performed at CSIRO's high biosecurity Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong, and is likely to be completed in 5-6 weeks. Lamb said it would be followed by a number of additional trials aimed at evaluating in-egg and other vaccination strategies.

"The next trials will be designed to see how commercially attractive we can make the vaccine," he said.

Lamb said the timeframe for getting an avian influenza vaccine onto the market would depend on a number of factors, including the magnitude and location of outbreaks. Many of the countries that have experienced epidemics to date have relatively short regulatory processes, he said, and vaccines could be approved for use in a reasonably short period.

The company is also looking at countries whose poultry industries are not yet affected by the virus.

"We're exploring the possibility of major governments using the vaccine to protect their entire flocks, or stockpiling the vaccine in case of an epidemic," Lamb said.