Sanofi Pasteur Begins Testing Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in the U.S.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis, has started Phase II testing of its cell culture-based seasonal influenza vaccine in the U.S.

The project is part of a contract awarded in 2005 by HHS aimed at accelerating development of a new cell culture-based influenza vaccine. The trials will involve healthy adult volunteers and focus on the safety profile and immunogenicity of the cell-based vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur said.

This vaccine was developed using the PER.C6 cell line licensed from Dutch biotechnology company Crucell.