statism watch

MedImmune, incidentally, was founded by Wayne T. Hockmeyer – who now sits on the board of Baxter Pharmaceuticals. And as was reported last week, Sir Roy Anderson sits on the board advising the UK on pandemic issues while simultaneously sitting on the board of GlaxoSmithKilne. He also sits on Royal Society boards alongside NIBSC officials. And this doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of conflict of interest problems in the vaccine industry. In this case a number of questions remain unanswered, foremost among them the identity of the viral strain that has been tapped for its improved genetics for production in eggs. Is it the ‘highly pathogenic’ avian flu, John Wood’s specialty in his work for the experimental FLUPAN project? And what is the epidemiology of using internal genes from a different virus to increase rate of growth? And why is it left up to a small online journal to ask these questions?

Flashback: Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | UK Government Swine Flu Advisor On Vaccine Maker Payroll | Fast-tracked swine flu vaccine will be safe, officials insist | Swine flu: How scared should we be? | Top Epidemiologist Slams Swine Flu Fearmongering | Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers | ‘Accidental’ Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible | Officials investigate how bird flu contaminated vaccines in Europe

Helen Branswell, Canadian Press
August 6, 2009

A British laboratory may have found a fix for the low yield problem that has been plaguing companies making swine flu vaccine, a scientist from the lab revealed Wednesday.

John Wood of the U.K.’s National Institute for Biological Standards and Control said an improved version of the seed strain his lab produced in May seems to generate a virus yield that is on a par with what manufacturers get when they make seasonal flu vaccine.

While Wood cautioned the increased yield has to be confirmed by manufacturers, any improvement would be welcome news. Manufacturers have been clamouring for the new seed strain, which the lab started shipping out Wednesday.

“Oh, they are,” Wood said in an interview from Potters Bar, England, where NIBSC is located. “We have a lot of orders in the wings ready to get all the paperwork in place.”

Marie-Christine Beauchemin, a spokesperson for Canada’s pandemic vaccine contractor, GlaxoSmithKline, confirmed it will obtain the new seed strain.

And Sanofi Pasteur, the world’s largest producer of flu vaccine, said it too is eager to give the new seed strain a try.

“That would be a nice improvement,” spokesperson Donna Cary said from Sanofi’s U.S. headquarters in Swiftwater, Pa., when told NIBSC estimates the new seed strain increases yield 2.5 fold over the best producing vaccine virus currently available to manufacturers.

The first batch of seed strains available to manufacturers produced disappointingly low virus yields.

Manufacturers reported getting somewhere between one-quarter and one-half of the yield with the pandemic virus seed strains as compared to seasonal flu vaccine production.

If left unfixed, the yield problem would have considerably slowed the rate at which vaccine to protect against the pandemic H1N1 virus will roll off production lines in coming weeks and months.

And as recently as two weeks ago, heads of labs that make seed strains – including Wood – were pessimistic they’d be able to find a way to increase the virus yield.

“If it’s confirmed, that would be good news,” Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, head of the World Health Organization’s vaccine research initiative, said of the better yield associated with the improved seed strain.

Wood said the NIBSC team grew up quantities in 100 eggs, simulating on a minor scale what happens with vaccine production. The yield looked good at that scale, he said, suggesting that is reason to hope the new seed strain will perform well in the hands of manufacturers.

“We do these kind of small scale production runs every year for seasonal flu. And usually it’s a pretty good indication of what manufacturers will find. So I’m kind of quietly confident,” he said.

Wood, principal scientist in NIBSC’s department of virology, said his lab used an unusual approach in its efforts to produce a better yielding seed strain.

Scientists repeated a step in the production process many times more than is usual – that being the growing of viruses in eggs. Eggs are inoculated with viruses, which grow, are harvested and then placed into a new batch of eggs for additional growth.

The process, called passaging, is generally done only a couple of times to allow a seed strain to adapt to growing in eggs.

“Normally we send these viruses out with the minimum of passaging, because we need to get it out quickly, really,” Wood said.

But where NIBSC’s original seed strain was passaged twice, the new one went through 13 rounds of growth in eggs.

The lab has never passaged a seed strain so many times, Wood admitted. “It was really because of the unusual circumstances that we really didn’t have anywhere else to turn.”

Another lab has tried a similar approach and it too may have some results as a consequence.

Doris Bucher, head of the laboratory at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., confirmed her team has produced three new variants of their original seed strain, all of which appear to produce higher yields than the original. (The team’s first seed strain was the best of the original batch made available to manufacturers.)

They were produced with six additional passages through eggs, said Bucher. She suggested in an email that the additional passaging probably contributed to the better yield of hemagglutinin, the major surface protein on a flu virus that is used in vaccine to induce development of virus-specific antibodies.

One potential drawback for manufacturers is the fact that the NIBSC seed strain was created using reverse genetics, a patented process that lets scientists create a hybrid virus made of whatever constellation of genes is desired. In this case, the seed strain has two external genes from the target virus and six internal genes from a flu virus that grows well in eggs. [Ed. Note: What kind of flu virus would grow particularly well in eggs? Someone had better go over this genome with a fine-toothed comb.]

Bucher’s team produces its seed strains using what’s called the classical method, in which the target virus and the high-growth virus are allowed to naturally swap genes. Offspring containing the desired gene constellations are then harvested.

Seed strains produced by the classical method are provided free to manufacturers. But royalties must be paid for any vaccine doses made from seed strains created using reverse genetics. The intellectual property (IP) rights are held by MedImmune Inc.. of Gaithersburg, Md., which has said it will waive payment for vaccine that is donated to the WHO for use in low-income countries.

All things being equal, vaccine makers would likely prefer to use a classically produced seed strain. But a significantly improved yield “may be persuasive,” Wood said.

Sanofi’s Cary agreed. “If you’re going to get significantly more doses faster, then certainly that could offset any IP costs.”

Source | See also under Health: Greece To Enforce Mandatory Swine Flu Vaccinations | Forced quarantines, vaccinations among pandemic powers provinces could employ | Flu scare a boon to body-bag sales | US House approves sweeping new food powers for FDA | Washington Post: Swine Flu Vaccine Will Contain Mercury | Organic food no more nutritious, study finds | US Military To Work With FEMA During Swine Flu Pandemic | Social workers erred in removing child from poor parents: report | More untendered eHealth spending, Liberal connections emerge | UK Government Swine Flu Advisor On Vaccine Maker Payroll | Fast-tracked swine flu vaccine will be safe, officials insist | Swine flu: How scared should we be? | Obama tries to save health-care overhaul on primetime broadcast | Top Epidemiologist Slams Swine Flu Fearmongering | Canadian defends anti-medicare ad | UK: Man refused liver transplant by NHS dies | Legal immunity set for swine flu vaccine makers | ‘They were looking for the ideal Manchurian Candidate’ | Swine flu ‘related’ to 1918 pandemic virus – survivors exhibit resistance | Bisphenol A traces found in baby food: Health Canada | Rwanda denies sterilisation plans | Canadian HIV vaccine ready for human tests | Newborn’s Blood Samples Raise Questions of Privacy | Did leak from a laboratory cause swine flu pandemic? | Scottish parliamentarians seek answers as cervical cancer vaccine injuries mount | Flu shots, including H1N1, to require 3 doses | Girl’s forced blood transfusion didn’t violate rights: top court | Manitoba First Nations declare swine flu state of emergency | Chemical ban targets toys, rubber duckies | GAVI foundation’s malaria vaccine trial encounters opposition from wary Kenyans | ABC Turns Programming Over To Government to Promote State Healthcare Agenda | HIV positive women in Africa sterilized, stigmatized | Black ooze at old Cold War station frightens Labrador town | WHO declares swine flu pandemic, no change in Canada’s approach | Aspartame-laden diet pop kicked out of Toronto schools | Manitoba First Nations, health system straining under flu outbreak | Head of eHealth Ontario is fired amid contracts scandal, gets big package | Personal ties exposed in eHealth’s untendered contracts | UK: Call to make MMR jab compulsory | Expand sex ed to all grades: report | Swine flu ‘getting closer’ to pandemic level, WHO official says | France Considers Mandatory Flu Vaccinations | Ontario eHealth approved 4.8 million in no-bid contracts | Genetically modified monkeys pass traits to offspring | Government unveils new tobacco restrictions aimed at protecting kids | Elevated BPA levels in people drinking out of plastic bottles, study finds | Billionaire club in bid to curb overpopulation | Children Who Get Flu Vaccine Have Three Times Risk Of Hospitalization For Flu, Study Suggests | Meet – and eat – the modified Atlantic salmon | Vaccines delayed, ’still in danger zone,’ for swine flu: UN chief | Canada waiting for WHO guidance on swine flu vaccine | Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Investigates Claim | Canadian Forces: Worries about child abuse by Afghan allies ‘unfounded’ | 2 Billion Infected? WHO Stokes Swine Flu Fear | Researchers working on swine flu ‘vaccine corn’ | WHO to declare full flu pandemic | Potential pandemic or garden-variety flu? No agreement among experts | Merck Makes Phony Peer-Review Journal | Political Lies and Media Disinformation regarding the Swine Flu Pandemic | Lessons of 1976: swine flu, fear, mass vaccinations, wasted millions | WHO distributes drug stockpile as swine flu cases rise | Swine Flu: In Mexico, an outbreak of police-state opportunism | Health officials confirm 6 cases of swine flu in Canada, ‘makings’ of pandemic | Illinois-based Baxter working on vaccine to stop swine flu outbreak in Mexico | ‘We have to assume’ swine flu is in Ontario, health official warns | Mexico cancels public events because of deadly flu outbreak | Will recession spark global food crisis? | Supreme Court rejects breast-implant case | Canadians returning from Mexico urged to be on alert for flu-like symptoms | Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility | Cut ties between Health Canada, drug companies, grieving MP urges | High-fructose sweeteners linked to obesity, diabetes | Psychologists Helped Guide CIA Interrogations | Microchip in a pill to monitor your meds | Mother who smacked son, 8, with hairbrush is forced to give him up to social services | Vioxx, Gardasil maker Merck and Co drew up doctor hit list | Students given suspension notices for not getting booster shots | Ottawa to test taps for cancer contaminants | Stun gun shock to head may cause seizures, doctors warn | Erasing traumatic memory possible, researchers say | Australians refused insurance because of poor genes | ‘Accidental’ Contamination Of Vaccine With Live Avian Flu Virus Virtually Impossible | Tests find Bisphenol A in majority of soft drinks | Against protocol, bus decapitation accused released from Ontario institution in 2005 | Details being withheld of listeria discussion held prior to outbreak | Scientists make HIV strain that can infect monkeys | Designer baby row over US clinic | Chair to have final say as residential schools commission jobs rewritten | Cornwall pedophile ring ‘fiction,’ church’s lawyer says | Officials investigate how bird flu contaminated vaccines in Europe | Vaccine Court: Autism Debate Continues | Alberta drug rehab centre abused us, former teen patients allege | Vaccines ‘not to blame for autism’, U.S. court rules | Hepatitis C sufferers haven’t received promised federal money | Electronic immunization records needed: Toronto health official | Ban stun gun use on young people, Ontario child advocate urges | Milk trial defence: Raw milk is safe and food choice a right | Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury | UK Hospitals will take meat off menus in bid to cut carbon | Raw milk crusader returns to court to fight charges | Health Canada silent on cellphone risks for kids | As in Canada, gender-bending chemicals in UK rivers grow more potent | U.S. again denies approval to expand use of Gardasil vaccine | Champix side effects prompt 818 complaints | Missed vaccinations lead to suspension threat | Did Pharma Giant with Gardasil HPV Patents Buy Nobel Prize? | Chemicals feminizing males, study suggests | Major report to reveal male gender under threat from pollutants | FDA Reluctantly Admits Mercury Fillings Have Neurotoxic Effects on Children | End water fluoridation, U of T dental professor says | CBC broadcasts “The Disappearing Male”, an expose of hormone-disrupting plastics | Experts set to revisit global cloning ban | Health Canada adds bisphenol A to list of toxic substances | Plastics ingredient linked to feminization in children | Tests find melamine in candies, milk, infant formula from China | Report urges long-term funding for HPV vaccine | Scientists Note Hormones in Water, Feminization of Fish Downstream of Montreal | New study raises concerns Bisphenol-A could be related to heart disease | Govt. Report: Fluoride in Water Supply Harms Thyroid Function | Frequent school lockdowns raise questions | Air freshener chemicals could impact fertility: study | Are we already dining on clones? | Bisphenol tied to lower brain function | Revealed: The serious health concerns about the cervical cancer jab | Study finds higher rate of reactions to HPV shot | Radiation touted to protect meat | Dementia drugs still prescribed, despite warnings | Chemical Industry Source of Hyped FDA Study ‘Exonerating’ Plastic Bottles | Researchers Question Wide Use of HPV Vaccines | Vaccines Found to Cause Diabetes in Children | Pfizer to be called on carpet in Nigeria for experimenting on children | Pesticides, pollutants threaten Canadian tap water, researchers suggest | Cut children’s fluoride exposure, report to Health Canada urges | Kids and cellphone warning | Sludge biosolids decried as ‘toxic stew’, used as fertilizer | Cellphone use potentially risky for kids, teens: health agency | CDC reports almost 8,000 adverse reactions to “Gardasil” HPV vaccine in U.S. | Is HPV Vaccine to Blame for a Teen’s Paralysis? | Home-grown veg ruined by toxic fertiliser | Alberta to offer HPV vaccine this fall | Ottawa knew breast implants harmful, case alleges | Naturopaths Fear Proposed Bill C-51 | The tiny, useful particle that could also be a health problem | Farmer Surveilled, Raided for Natural Milk Operation has Trial Delayed | Discovery of HPV in male oral cancers leads to vaccination call | Families will make case for vaccine link to autism | HPV vaccination program raises concerns in B.C. | Canada’s C-51 Law May Outlaw 60% Of Natural Health Products | Homeless people die after bird flu vaccine trial in Poland | Perspective on the HPV vaccine | Gardasil shots have earned a painful reputation | Vaccine-linked polio hits Nigeria | Deaths associated with Merck’s HPV vaccine (Gardasil), over 3500 adverse affects reported | Bush To Veto Ban On Mercury In Vaccines | Government knew of HIV risk from imported blood | Political Intrigue in Merck’s Push for Mandatory HPV Vaccinations | Codex Alimentarius — An Emerging Threat | Polio Warning Issued for Travel to Nigeria | Bayer Continued Selling Contaminated Blood Product in 1980s | Aids scandals around the world | Blood Money: The Clinton Ties to the Blood Scandal

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 12:32 pm and is filed under health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.