Novavax licenses VLP bird flu vacc to GE Healthcare

Small US biotechnology company Novavax has partnered with GE Healthcare to develop a new method of making avian influenza vaccines for humans within 10 to 12 weeks of strain identification instead of six months, the current lead time.

The Novavax vaccine uses virus-like particles to imitate the pathogen in humans in order to generate immunity. According to the firm, this method can produce seven to 10 times the amount of vaccine that current methods can, at a much lower cost.