The FDA has approved a new cell-culture seasonal influenza
vaccine -- Flublok -- that does not require the use of either
live influenza virus or chicken eggs to manufacture and shortens
the time needed for production. Like other currently available
seasonal flu vaccines, Flublok protects against two influenza A
strains -- H1N1 and H3N2 -- and a B strain. Its production
process differs, however, from the egg-based vaccines. Flublok
-- which was approved for use in adults ages 18 to 49 -- is made
using a baculovirus expression system and recombinant DNA
technology. The process involves producing large quantities of
influenza hemagglutinin for each of the vaccine strains in an
insect cell line derived from the fall armyworm -- the larval
stage of a moth -- by baculovirus vectors. "While the technology
is new to flu vaccine production, it is used to make vaccines
that have been approved by the FDA to prevent other infectious
diseases," the agency said in a press release, noting that the
technology allows for fast