The Duke Human Vaccine Institute received funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a branch of the National Institutes of Health, to manufacture H5N1 avian flu vaccines for use in clinical trials.
NIAID recently funded $7 million to Duke under the contract called the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs), which NIAID set up to develop new influenza vaccines that induce long-lasting immunity and protect against more variants of the virus.
“We will be developing two investigational mRNA vaccines targeting avian influenza,” said Thomas Denny, chief operating officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. “We expect to complete manufacturing this fall, with the goal of having vaccines ready for phase 1 clinical trials to begin in early 2025.”
The funding for the avian flu vaccines is a distinct award under the CIVICs program, which was previously awarded to Duke for vaccine development, trials and manufacturing, worth a potential $400 million.
The Duke Human Vaccine Institute has a unique position in vaccine development with a production facility that meets good manufacturing practice standards to produce high-quality vaccines.
For more information, click here.