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news.HepaLife Technologies has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Michigan State University for the development of new cell-culture-based flu vaccines to protect against the spread of influenza viruses among humans, including the H5N1 virus strain.
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The license agreement gives HepaLife exclusive rights to five issued patents. Under the terms of the agreement, HepaLife agreed to pay Michigan State University (MSU) undisclosed milestone payments and royalty payments based on future sales.
Recent events have highlighted problems with traditional egg-based influenza vaccine production methods, particularly the length of time to produce a new vaccine and the amount of vaccine that can be produced on short notice.
A successful cell-culture-based avian flu vaccine has the potential to reduce production time compared to traditional vaccine production methods and should allow rapid expansion of vaccine production in the face of a pandemic.
“Because of trade, smuggling and migratory birds, all potential conduits for the H5N1 virus, many experts feel it’s just a matter of time before it arrives in North and South America,” said Mr Harmel Rayat, opresident and CEO of HepaLife Technologies.