Novartis began testing the A / H1N1 flu vaccine

Swiss drug company Novartis has begun conducting a trial of the first A / H1N1 flu vaccine on its first person, a company spokesman said.

The test could last for a year with 6,000 people of all ages in the UK, Germany and the US, spokesman Eric Althoff said. However, Althoff stressed, the vaccine could be released to the market before the trial was completed.

An Englishman became the first person to receive the A / H1N1 flu vaccine about 10 days ago.

Sanofi-Pasteur, which provides about 40% of flu vaccines worldwide, will begin testing the influenza A / H1N1 vaccine in the next few days in the US and Europe, according to spokesman Benoit Rungeard. Sanofi-Pasteur is a member of Sanofi-Aventis SA based in Paris.

Since the World Health Organization declared A / H1N1 flu a global pandemic, pharmaceutical companies have been in the race to produce the earliest vaccine to prevent the disease. Last month, Australian pharmaceutical firm CSL became the first vaccine maker to start testing vaccines on people in the country, " We started our first clinical trials about 10 days ago, " Althoff said.

The race to produce A / H1N1 flu vaccine is hotter than ever (Photo: netnewsdaily)

Half of Novartis' vaccines are tested for chicken egg production, the traditional way of making flu vaccines, while the other half uses cell technology. The test will check the safety of the vaccine and determine the dose needed. " We think it will take two doses, " Althoff said.

The vaccine tested in Europe has an adjuvant, an ingredient used to boost the body's response to foreign substances. In the US, according to Althoff, Novartis will test both vaccines with and without adjuvants.

The World Health Organization recommends that countries use vaccines with adjuvants , to expand the supply of H1N1 flu vaccine globally. Flu vaccines in Europe often contain adjuvants. However, the vaccine is not licensed in the United States.

When Novartis AG has preliminary data on testing, they will submit to pharmaceutical regulators including the European Health Authority. The US and European pharmaceutical authorities have a quick checkout process to license influenza A / H1N1 vaccines, to ensure supply before the flu season begins in the fall.

The European Health Authority has previously stated that A / H1N1 influenza vaccines based on previously approved avian flu vaccines can be licensed within 5 days, even though they have not been tested extensively on humans.

More than 35 countries have ordered Novartis to supply A / H1N1 vaccines including France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The United States has ordered Novartis' vaccine and excipients worth up to 979 million USD.

Althoff said it could start shipping vaccines in the fourth quarter of 2009 and will continue to ship next year.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC, which receives 291 million doses of vaccine orders from many countries including Britain, has yet to test the vaccine on humans. The US also ordered $ 250 million from Glaxo.

Since the outbreak in April, swine flu has claimed at least 1,154 people worldwide and is estimated to have infected millions.

In India yesterday (August 5), hundreds of people worried to gather at the hospital to be tested for influenza A / H1N1. Panic spread in the city of Pune and even a scuffle in the city's top hospital.

In another effort against the pandemic, Saudi Health Ministry officials said the government would require pilgrims to Mecca to obtain a medical certificate that they did not suffer from chronic diseases.