BioSante's BioVant sees good animal H5NI data

The USA's BioSante Pharmaceuticals has reported positive results from a new study demonstrating that its calcium phosphate nanoparticle-based vaccine adjuvant, BioVant, may help in the development of an effective vaccine against H5N1 avian flu.

BioSante says that its 10-week preclinical study sought to determine whether BioVant could enhance the body's immune response to the H5N1 viral antigen. It found that administration of a BioVant/H5N1 formulation stimulated production of high titers of H5N1-specific antibodies, and significantly higher than H5N1 alone, while anti-avian flu antibody levels continued to increase over the entire study period, suggesting good duration of immunity.

Stephen Simes, chief executive of BioSante, says that "an adjuvant included may allow for better efficacy and lower doses per vaccination, which may help to prevent shortages. More importantly, addition of an adjuvant may enable more people to produce an immune response to protect them from disease."