A Chinese vaccine expert said yesterday a store of NIBRG-14 virus strain has been established to vaccinate against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu. It can be produced in large quantities.
Yin Weidong, a leading expert on a human bird flu vaccine project, said the research group has made preparations to produce human-use bird flu vaccine in massive quantities.
Yin's research shows the biological properties of the virus strain remain the same as the original even after developing a 10th generation which displays a steady inheriting process, indicating that the virus strain can be used in large quantity vaccine production.
The Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech Co Ltd, led by Yin, started cooperation with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2004 and developed a human bird flu vaccine this November. It is currently under clinical tests that will last about 12 months.
Yin said the group adopted a research concept earlier proposed by the European Union that is to study the immunity, security and effectiveness of the dangerous "prototype" H5N1, H9N2 and H7N2.
If the virus mutates, new vaccines can be easily developed on the basis of those prototypes.
"We are capable of producing vaccines against other types of influenza if the virus develops into other forms," said Yin, who is also the managing director of Sinovac. "We can modify the virus strain within 48 days and update the human bird flu vaccine in four months after the virus mutates."
The flu virus easily mutates, which can disable any powerful vaccine, said Wang Xiaofang, director of the rural and social development department under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Therefore, Wang said, the capability to research, develop and produce vaccines is much more important than vaccines themselves.
(Xinhua)