Kaketsuken initiates second trial of flu vaccine using Vivalis EB66 cell line

Japan’s Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute (Kaketsuken) has initiated the first human injection of an investigational influenza vaccine produced in EB66 cells in Japan. This program is part of the co-development and license agreement signed between GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) Biologicals and Kaketsuken, to co-develop seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines produced using French vaccines developer Vivalis’ (Euronext: VLS) EB66 cell line.

Many influenza vaccine manufacturing processes, based on chicken eggs, have remained unchanged for over 70 years. Annual production of worldwide influenza vaccine requires the processing of over 500 million chicken eggs and is viewed by leaders of the vaccine field as outdated. The development of cell-based technologies for use in industrial scale bioreactors has been a goal to quickly satisfy worldwide demands for rapid and efficient vaccine production.

This follows the first 2010 Investigational New Drug application granted to GSK Biologicals for human clinical studies by the US Food and Drug Administration using the EB66 cell line for influenza vaccine production. The Kaketsuken trial is the second human clinical study in the world for EB66-produced materials.