29 September 2009

J&J buys stake in make of flu vaccine

U.S. healthcare products maker Johnson & Johnson is hoping the flu makes the company healthier as they paid $440 million (€301.8 million) to get an 18% stake in Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV, which is working on a universal flu vaccine.

The companies said their immediate focus would be on developing “monoclonal antibodies,” which bind to a target protein, alerting the body’s own immune system to attack it.

Crucell won grants worth up to $69 million by the U.S. government in August to develop its range of monoclonal antibodies for influenza, which Crucell said have shown early promise in fighting “a wide range” of seasonal and pandemic flu viruses.

The company said the antibodies can fight any influenza, including swine flu and bird flu, and including those flu strains resistant to Tamiflu, the medicine currently most often used to slow their progression.

In the long term, Crucell and Johnson & Johnson said they want to develop a universal flu vaccine. They also hope to use similar antibodies to fight other diseases, including rabies.

“Each year, vaccines must be formulated to address the current influenza strain,” said Paul Stoffels, head of Johnson & Johnson research. “A universal antibody or vaccine that protects against a broad range of strains would be an important advance in helping doctors and nurses manage the annual influenza season and control acute epidemic and pandemic outbreaks.”

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