World’s First Widespread Human Testing of a Flu Vaccine Commences
Current flu vaccines have to be changed each year to match strains of virus circulating at the time and they do not always protect people that well, especially older patients with weak immune systems. You need a flu shot every year because the vaccine is based on a best guess of what type of flu will be going around that year. But we’re a step closer to ending the annual ritual.
A universal flu vaccine has been developed and is being hailed as a gamechanger in the field owing to its capability of being the first in the world to fight all types of the virus. It was developed by Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Vaccitech, a spin-out biotech company founded by Jenner scientists.
The experimental vaccine—which is said to work against human, bird, and swine flu—instead targets the part of the virus that doesn’t change: the core proteins that make envelop the bulk of the virus particle. Researchers don’t intend for this new vaccine to replace the current one. Rather, they hope the new will work in conjunction with the old.
The vaccine works by stimulating the immune system
to boost virus-killing T-cells, instead of antibodies. Previous research has shown such T-cells can help fight more than one type of flu virus. Researchers hope the new vaccine will provide better and longer-lasting protection when used alongside the regular seasonal flu shot.The new vaccine has already been tested for safety in earlier trials. Now it is advancing into mid-stage Phase IIb testing, with more than 10,000 people aged 65 and over being asked to take part in a study supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and delivered by the University of Oxford in Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
The recruitment target is 500. Researchers believe the vaccine could have a major impact on the worldwide fight against the virus, which affects about a billion people worldwide a year with 250,000 to 500,000 annual deaths, mainly in the over-65 age group. Current vaccines are only effective in 30 to 40% of over 65s as the immune system weakens with age and researchers believe the new vaccine could increase this. For those who receive the jab but still get the flu, researchers believe the new vaccine could also reduce the severity and duration of the illness.
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said: “Every year, flu in older adults causes serious illness and sometimes death. We want to improve the situation, but in order to do that we need volunteers to help us test a new vaccine.”
Prof Gilbert, co-founder of Vaccitech, a spin-out company from University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute that is part-funding the work, said “We expect that the protection from the new vaccine will last longer than a year, but we will need to test that with more clinical trials in the future. It is possible that, in future, vaccinations against flu might be given at longer intervals – maybe every five years instead of every year. But first we have to test protection in the first flu season following vaccination.“
