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The IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply international task force (IFPMA IVS) will grant EUR 200,000 to the Pathogen Evolution Group1 at the University of Cambridge within the UK, to support computerized mapping of the H1N1 and B influenza viruses. The group, recently described as “mapmaker for the world of influenza”2, has already mapped the H3N2 influenza virus. The extra mapping will aid the World Well being Organization’s Global Influenza Surveillance Network (WHO GISN) to visualize how influenza viruses are evolving, and so increase its selection makers’ confidence when selecting the influenza strains to be utilised in vaccines for a coming influenza season. All mapping information resulting from this work will probably be for WHO GISN use and will not be shared with IFPMA or its IVS members.
Human influenza viruses are continually evolving in a process known as antigenic drift3, that is why an influenza vaccine administered this winter may possibly supply little or no protection next winter. Influenza virus evolution is very complicated and mapping it requires very sophisticated mathematical computerized programming, as properly as adequate surveillance information, that is collected, isolated and analyzed by the WHO GISN, comprising National Influenza Centers and International Collaborating Centers.
Dr. Harvey Bale, Director Common of the IFPMA, stated: “The more closely the antigens in a seasonal vaccine match those in the strains really circulating during the winter influenza season, the greater the protection provided by that vaccine, but predicting what might be circulating 6 months in advance is a challenging task. The mapping work in the University of Cambridge funded by the IFPMA IVS will assist WHO GISN in that task and so aid to improve vaccine efficiency.”
“Although seasonal influenza causes 3 to five million circumstances of severe illness and among 250,000 and 500,000 deaths worldwide each year, essentially the most vulnerable groups – notably the very young, the elderly and certain patient groups – are not adequately vaccinated in most countries. Wider vaccination could also decrease the widespread misery and significant economic cost associated with large numbers of otherwise wholesome adults and children spending a week at home in bed,” he continued.
The IFPMA IVS grant towards the University of Cambridge for antigenic mapping is the latest example of industry support for study function to improve the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines. Other WHO GISN function streams supported by the IFPMA IVS incorporate development of high-growth reassortants, which assist to increase vaccine yields and accelerate production. The IFPMA IVS contributes about USD 1.4 million per year for this work, that is done by New York Medical College, USA along with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, UK. IFPMA IVS members MedImmune, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (former Chiron Vaccines) and sanofi pasteur also fund isolation of specific influenza viruses in eggs by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA, to facilitate large scale egg-based production of the required influenza vaccines.
1. See http://www.antigenic-cartography.org/cam
2. “Mapmaker for the World of Influenza”, Science 230:5874, 310-311, 2008
3. For more details on antigenic draft and shift, see here.
About the IFPMA IVS
The IFPMA Influenza Vaccine Supply International Task Force (IVS ITF), established in February 2002, brings together research-based influenza vaccine manufacturers from worldwide, which are conducting the R&D essential to develop safe, successful, high-quality vaccines against avian and pandemic influenza threats. The IVS ITF works to address the advocacy, communication, policymaking, regulatory, scientific and technical issues related to interpandemic and pandemic influenza vaccines.
http://www.ifpma.org