Although Vical Incorporated's DNA vaccine seems to show promise in animal trials, the race for developing a flu vaccine is still ongoing. Because of its advantages in terms of ease and speed at which vaccines can be manufactured, biotech firms are developing alternate methods of vaccine production that, unlike the conventional method of vaccine making, is independent of using chiken eggs.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has just awarded Novartis' new Vaccines and Diagnostics division about $220 million to support the development of a cell culture-derived influenza vaccine, both to supply seasonal influenza vaccine and to respond rapidly in the event of an influenza pandemic. The grant is part of the government plan to reach the capacity to produce 600 million doses of pandemic influenza vaccine within six months in case a pandemic does occur. The government will be tapping on Novartis to provide about a quarter of that (MedImmune, Inc, DynPort Vaccine Co., GlaxoSmithKline PLC, and Solvay Pharmaceuticals are the 4 other firms awarded by the government a total of about $1 billion as part of the pandemic plan.) To meet that, Novartis announced creating a nuew manufacturing site in the country.

"We will be investing additional resources in highly skilled researchers to set up one of the first flu cell culture manufacturing sites in the US. This plant will contribute to America's vaccine infrastructure for seasonal flu and support the US government's ability to respond quickly to a potential pandemic, with access to new technologies to ensure sufficient capacity."

Novartis' vaccine cadidate is developed and produced in Marburg, Germany by Chiron, which Novartis took over earlier this year. Clinical studies are currently ongoing both in the US and Europe, and the firm expects to file for European approval later this year.