In Emergency, Flu Vaccine Could Be Made Quickly In Existing Facilities (from ATSNN), page 1

Today we are being told that if there was an emergency situation such as a pandemic outbreak and last year's vaccine shortage, the influenza (flu) vaccine could be made twice as fast with the use of cell cultures which in already build biopharmeceutical manufacturing facilities, according to Henry Wang who is a University of Michigan professor of biomedical and chemical engineering.

www.sciencedaily.com
Wang and graduate student Lyle Lash, speaking at the 229th American Chemical Society National Meeting March 13-17, will propose a system for retrofitting existing biopharmaceutical buildings to produce the flu vaccine using cell cultures. The plan would require proper government and industry support and some advanced planning and training.

Wang and Lash first did a case study of traditional vaccine manufacturing, where the virus is injected and incubated in a chicken egg, killed and extracted, then bottled and sold. The process takes more than four months.

Next, the researchers considered the cell-based vaccines. In the cell culture approach, the flu virus incubates in cell cultures rather than in eggs. Several companies are trying to perfect the cell-based flu vaccines where cells are grown in large vats. It is seen as a promising approach because it's more flexible and quicker than the current egg culture method.

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More about wang can be found here: www.engin.umich.edu...

This news is reassuring in the event of a flu outbreak. Not having the sufficient vaccines available could be devastating to the population. Could these vaccines be made for an outbreak of bird flu?

Related News Links:
www.engin.umich.edu
www.sciencedaily.com
www.chemistry.org