As the northern hemisphere moves into flu season during an ongoing COVID pandemic and with overburdened health systems, US-based Seqiris has released new data highlighting the efficacy of its flu vaccines.
Seqirus, a global leader in influenza prevention, is presenting retrospective analyses of data this week focused on the 2019/20 flu season in the United States. They show that its cell-based quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine (QIVc) is more effective in preventing influenza-related medical encounters (IRMEs) than egg-based equivalents.
Designed to produce an exact match to WHO-selected influenza virus strains, QIVc is produced in a cell-based vaccine manufacturing process, an alternative to traditional egg-based manufacturing.
Seqiris’ ‘comprehensive set of real-world studies’ shows that its QIVc prevented more IRMEs in both children and adults, while its trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine (aTIV) saw fewer IRMEs in people aged 65 or over.
“The influenza virus is changing constantly and, as a result, vaccine reformulation with strain changes is done every year to help keep up with the variation, which is why it is important we use real-world datasets to evaluate vaccine effectiveness annually to supplement randomised clinical trials,” said study co-author and Sequiris’s head of health economic, Joaquin Mould-Quevedo.
The retrospective studies included more than 10 million vaccinated people in the US.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza causes 140,000-810,000 hospitalisations each year, and so recommends flu vaccines for everyone six months of age and above. Vaccinations prevented 7.5 million illnesses and 6,300 deaths from influenza in 2019/20, said the CDC.
Also this week, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) – part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – has announced a partnership with Enesi Pharma to test its next-generation ImplaVax flu vaccines.
The innovative tech-enabled vaccination products offer a solid-dose, thermally stable formulation that is delivered needle-free.
“ImplaVax can reduce wastage, eliminate the need for cold-chain logistics and allow for easier administration of vaccine – representing a potential paradigm shift in the deployment and reach of mass-immunisation programmes,” said Enesi Pharma CEO, David Hipkiss.
The study, which will begin in Q4 2021, will build on the Drive Beyond the Needle collaboration between Enesi and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) earlier this year, which saw the development of a number of solid-dose formulations of a recombinant H7N9 pandemic influenza vaccine.