Swine flu vaccine enters manufacturing

Meriden, Connecticut – A US company said it has started making a vaccine to help prevent people catching the swine flu (H1N1) virus.

Protein Sciences Corporation (PSC) said in a statement it will produce 100,000 doses this week and “at least” 100,000 does a week afterwards.

The vaccine is called PanBlok and uses the firm’s proprietary baculovirus and insect cell manufacturing. PSC said that it believes that it’s the first and only vaccince available at least for the next few months.

After the doses are made, the vaccine will go through quality tests which will last for a month. That means that by the middle of July the vaccine will be ready for clinical trials and for vaccinations in countries that grant early regulatory clearance.

PSC said it will ship H1N1 protein for research purposes, and that it is already in discussions with US parties and abroad to conduct the first human trials.