Microbix Biosystems was issued a Canadian patent for its vaccine technology that is designed to boost global production of influenza vaccines.
Last year, according to Microbix, an independent laboratory confirmed that the company’s vaccine technology delivers a two-fold increase in the yield of human influenza virus from eggs. The independent evaluation was conducted by Todd Hatchette, Ph.D., the director of virology and immunology at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Annual global vaccine production capacity is currently only 350 million doses, far short of any potential pandemic requirement, notes Microbix. The company’s technology not only offers the potential to significantly increase flu vaccine production, explains William J. Gastle, chairman and CEO, but will also speed up development of vaccines in response to new flu strains—both important factors in combating possible future pandemics.