Acambis Delivers ACAM2000 to US Government, Reports Positive Data from Universal Influenza A Vaccine Trials

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Acambis plc (Cambridge, MA), has announced that, subsequent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order of September 2007, it completed delivery of the entire 2.7 million doses of its ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine to the CDC on December 28, 2007.

Acambis plc (Cambridge, MA), has announced that, subsequent to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) order of September 2007, it completed delivery of the entire 2.7 million doses of its ACAM2000 smallpox vaccine to the CDC on December 28, 2007. This was ahead of the scheduled delivery in the first quarter of 2008. As a result, Acambis now expects to record total revenues of around £9.5 million in 2007. The cash for the delivery will be receivable from the CDC in January 2008.

Acambis has also announced preliminary results from a Phase 1 clinical trial and a pre-clinical challenge study of its ACAM-FLU-A vaccine, a recombinant vaccine linked to a Hepatitis B core protein. It targets M2e, a conserved region of all influenza A strains. This approach could overcome the need for annual vaccine reformulations and, since all pandemic influenza strains are type A, it could also be a potential vaccine against pandemics.

The Phase 1 trial of ACAM-FLU-A evaluated the vaccine’s safety and ability to generate an immune response. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at multiple centers in the US and involved 79 subjects. In two of the four arms of the study, the vaccine was combined with an adjuvant-either aluminum hydroxide or QS-21.

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The trial results demonstrate that the vaccine is well tolerated and immunogenic. While immune responses were seen in all vaccinated groups, the highest immune responses occurred in the group vaccinated with ACAM-FLU-A plus QS-21. In this group, 90% of subjects seroconverted.

Acambis ACAM2000 releaseAcambis ACAM-FLU-A release