Canadian, U.S. Firms to Begin Plague Vaccine Trial

A U.S. biotechnology company and a Canadian vaccine manufacturer are set to begin the first phase of clinical trials of a plague vaccine, the Canadian Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 7, 2004).

The U.S. Defense Department contracted with ID Biomedical of Vancouver and DVC, a Maryland-based vaccine developer, to develop protection for soldiers against biological warfare agents. If successful, the vaccine would probably be stockpiled for the military, not distributed for routine use by the public.

“I don’t foresee — and I hope it never comes to it — where you would go and get your plague vaccine,” said Dean Linden, spokesman for ID Biomedical. “It would be sort of for a military application.”

DVC expects to begin trials on 44 volunteers aged 18 to 40 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

“The safety of this vaccine has already been thoroughly evaluated in animals,” said DVC spokesperson April Finnen. “We expect the Phase 1 trial to confirm the vaccine is safe for human use” (Terri Theodore, Canadian Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 11).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.