Microbix Biosystems granted U.S. patent for its influenza vaccine

Oct 22 2007

Microbix Biosystems Inc. has been granted a patent by the U.S. Patent Office for its technology - VIRUSMAX - which enables vaccine manufacturers to double the amount of influenza vaccine they produce each year.

Microbix' discovery has enormous implications for protecting more people during a pandemic. Patents are also being allowed in Canada, India and Australia, and a number of other applications in major markets are currently pending.

"We're delighted that we now have strong patent protection as we engage in assisting manufacturers increase production" said William J. Gastle, CEO of Microbix. The company's technology will be licensed to manufacturers on a non-exclusive basis.

Annual global flu vaccine production capacity is currently about 350 million doses. The Microbix process, if adopted worldwide, would increase that amount to at least 700 million doses.

VIRUSMAX(TM) can be implemented quickly and cost-effectively by manufactures, allowing them to ramp up production in a matter of months. Microbix has established a Special Workgroup for Applied Technology Transfer (SWATT) to help manufacturers adopt the process. The SWATT team is now being sent to various facilities to assist customers in implementing the technology and training local personnel.

The World Health Organization, in its Global Vaccine Action Plan, noted that if an influenza pandemic were to occur, the potential vaccine supply would fall far short of the amount needed. Among all the strategies outlined in the WHO's Action Plan, increased production yields was identified as "the most direct mechanism to make more doses available."

Microbix specializes in developing proprietary biological technologies, including biotherapeutic drugs, vaccine technologies and animal reproduction technologies. It has been researching and developing the flu vaccine yield enhancement technology for a number of years, with a team at the company's Toronto laboratories spearheading these efforts.

http://www.microbix.com/