Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200805/s2240038.htm?tab=latest
Vietnam bird flu vaccine returns positive results
Updated 1 hour 4 minutes ago
Vietnam says it has had good results with the first stage of human testing of its locally developed bird flu vaccine.
The vaccine, produced by the health ministry's vaccine and biotechnology company, Vabiotech, has been trialled on a group of thirty students from the Military Medical Institute.
Vabiotech began its study in 2004 as avian flu began to spread throughout Vietnam, and was given the all-clear to conduct human trials after successful tests on animals last year.
Vabiotech Director Thu Van has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program over the past two months the vaccine has been tested on 10 volunteers close to the project, and now on another 30 people, and she is pleased with the process so far.
"On volunteers, clinical trials, phase one... it was safe, quite good," she said.
"The next injection is [in] about 10 days."
Further tests will be conducted on 300 medical students within the next 8 months, and Vabiotech hopes to introduce its product in late 2009.
The vaccine has been developed using monkey kidney cells - something D Sean Tobin, from the World Health Organization, says could make using the vaccine in other countries more difficult.
"Certainly there would be some extra level of scrutiny required, if they were to try and use this vaccine in other countries," he said.
"But Vabiotech do have a long experience with other kinds of vaccines using this monkey kidney cell technology, they feel, and the government here feels quite confident in those vaccines."
Vietnam bird flu vaccine returns positive results
Updated 1 hour 4 minutes ago
Vietnam says it has had good results with the first stage of human testing of its locally developed bird flu vaccine.
The vaccine, produced by the health ministry's vaccine and biotechnology company, Vabiotech, has been trialled on a group of thirty students from the Military Medical Institute.
Vabiotech began its study in 2004 as avian flu began to spread throughout Vietnam, and was given the all-clear to conduct human trials after successful tests on animals last year.
Vabiotech Director Thu Van has told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program over the past two months the vaccine has been tested on 10 volunteers close to the project, and now on another 30 people, and she is pleased with the process so far.
"On volunteers, clinical trials, phase one... it was safe, quite good," she said.
"The next injection is [in] about 10 days."
Further tests will be conducted on 300 medical students within the next 8 months, and Vabiotech hopes to introduce its product in late 2009.
The vaccine has been developed using monkey kidney cells - something D Sean Tobin, from the World Health Organization, says could make using the vaccine in other countries more difficult.
"Certainly there would be some extra level of scrutiny required, if they were to try and use this vaccine in other countries," he said.
"But Vabiotech do have a long experience with other kinds of vaccines using this monkey kidney cell technology, they feel, and the government here feels quite confident in those vaccines."