GlaxoSmithKline announced the start of human trials of two new bird flu vaccines on Thursday and said if they work, they would be ready to manufacture by the end of the year, Reuters reported. They believe their vaccines will work more efficiently than one made by rival Sanofi-Aventis, which U.S researchers said on Wednesday worked well only at the highest doses and even then in only half the people immunized. Glaxo believes its advantage lies in the adjuvants -- additives put into vaccines that boost the immune system and make it respond more efficiently. If all goes well, the company could start making the vaccine at the end of the year, after the results of the trials, said David Stout, president of pharmaceutical operations at Glaxo. "It is then a case of just mixing," Stout told reporters in a telephone briefing. The virus is grown in eggs and then inactivated, and the adjuvant is simpler to make "Then you just combine the two and shake it up," Stout said. The Sanofi vaccine only produced a satisfactory immune response in volunteers at 12 times the dose needed for the annual seasonal flu shot. Glaxo plans to test much lower doses of its vaccine in 800 volunteers in Germany and Belgium -- starting at one quarter of the current dose. --More 22 51 Local Time 19 51 GMT
