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news.MedImmune has licensed its proprietary reverse genetics intellectual property to CSL of Australia, to support the development of new human seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines.
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Reverse genetics is a method by which viruses such as influenza can be generated entirely from segments of DNA.
MedImmune believes this deal is important as the technology is more efficient and reliable than current methods used to produce vaccine strains. For pandemic vaccines, reverse genetics can be particularly important because it does not require vaccine manufacturers to work directly with the infectious pandemic strain, such as H5N1, rather only segments of its genome.
MedImmune will receive an upfront payment and has the potential to receive royalties on any vaccine stockpiles or other product sales using the reverse genetics technology.
MedImmune is collaborating with a number of entities to explore vaccine development techniques that could be used in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. Earlier this year, the National Institutes of Health began enrolling participants in a phase I study of an intranasal H5N1 influenza vaccine candidate based on MedImmune’s live, attenuated vaccine technology, using reverse genetics technology.