Recently, Baxter International Inc. (BAX) announced data from a late-stage study for its flu vaccine candidate Preflucel. The candidate provided a 71% protection rate against all strains of the flu. Furthermore, the study revealed that the influenza vaccine resulted in a 78% protection rate against matching influenza strains. The results were presented at the International Congress on Infectious Disease (ICID) in Miami.
 
Baxter is collaborating with DynPort Vaccine Co. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), to develop seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines. Computer Sciences Corp. is the global leader in providing technology-enabled solutions and services. The vaccine was tested on more than 7,200 subjects, and results were taken 3 weeks following inoculation.
 
The late-stage clinical trial also evaluated the immunogenicity of Preflucel by determining the rates of seroprotection and seroconversion, in addition to geometric mean titer increases, in the vaccinated participants of the study. Immunogenicity results met all the requirements for each of these criteria laid down by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.
 
Baxter and DynPort intend to complete the late-stage study of the vaccine in adults and elderly individuals shortly. The study was conducted during the 2008-2009 influenza season in the United States. The participants in the double-blind, placebo-controlled study were aged between 18 and 49 years. Baxter and its partner DynPort stated that reactions at the site of injection, muscle pain, fatigue, headache, and malaise were the most common side effects of Preflucel.
 
Preflucel is not cultivated in chicken eggs unlike most flu vaccines. It is made using Baxter’s Vero cell culture platform. The manufacturing process of Preflucel does not allow interaction between the vaccine and the egg environment, and keeps it pure since it does not interact with antibiotics.
 
Currently, we are Neutral on Baxter International.

Read the full analyst report on “BAX”
Read the full analyst report on “CSC”
Zacks Investment Research