Lentigen and PATH jointly research innovative pandemic Influenza vaccine

Biotech company Lentigen Corporation and the nonprofit global health organization PATH have formed a partnership to accelerate research on a pandemic influenza vaccine. PATH will initially invest US$3m over 27 months and work with Lentigen on early-stage development of a H5N1 virus-like particle (VLP) prototype pandemic influenza vaccine.

With global health leaders increasingly concerned about the possibility of an influenza pandemic, PATH is working with public- and private-sector partners to advance the development of new, safe, and effective influenza vaccines that can be produced quickly and economically in large quantities to combat a global influenza pandemic, especially in low-income countries.

Vaccines based on VLPs can overcome many of the limitations of traditional influenza vaccines by offering highly immunogenic, strain-specific recombinant antigens that can be produced economically and at large scale. VLPs are self-assembling particles that can be made in cell culture, avoiding the need to rely on limited egg supplies for vaccine production.

The Lentigen process may have unique advantages by producing high yields of VLPs in a portable and disposable manufacturing system.

"We are delighted to partner with Lentigen," said Dr Kathleen Neuzil, director of PATH's Influenza Vaccine Development Project. "Lentigen's technology is versatile and economical, and could be transferred to manufacturers in multiple locations to achieve our goal of developing a pandemic influenza vaccine to meet the needs of people in low-resource countries."