Australian company tests new swine flu vaccine

SL plans to test its vaccine on 240 volunteers aged 18-64 for a seven- week period to understand how much of the vaccine each person needs, and how many units of vaccine need to be produced for further distribution throughout Australia, Singapore and the USA.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and CSL’s major business competitor Sanofi-Aventis SA will also be following up the tests closely to see how much of the Antigen is needed to prevent humans from contracting the virus. The results will support existing knowledge on how much of the vaccine is necessary for each person.

"The whole world is now monitoring this testing closely," said Mari Pauline, a World Health Vaccine Development Director, "The results will support knowledge on other vaccine research, too."

However, the level of vaccine production is currently still unclear, as is how quickly it needs to be produced and how efficient it is. Meanwhile the current pandemic is rapidly spreading throughout the world.