The European Investment Bank (EIB) and BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., developer of the Universal Flu Vaccine candidate M-001, announced that they have entered into a €20 million EIB-BiondVax-Collaboration(approximately $22 million) loan agreement.
Flu viruses frequently and unpredictably mutate. Since it is impossible to predict future mutations, current flu vaccines may target strains that are not represented in the current wave of influenza. Mainly due to vaccine-virus mismatch, current flu vaccine effectiveness is on average only about 40% in the general population, and in elderly people as low as 9%. In addition, current vaccines take about 4 to 6 months to produce, and a new one must be produced each year. So when a mismatch is identified at the beginning of the flu season, there is insufficient time to make a new vaccine for that specific season.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports up to 500,000 annual seasonal flu related deaths, mostly affecting people above 65 years old. Seasonal flu is the 8th leading cause of death in the USA, and it causes high social and economic burdens to patients, their families, and health care providers.
Source: BiondVax. Read full article here.
19 June, 2017
