EMEA recommends pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine

LONDON The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended the authorization of the first “pre-pandemic vaccine” for humans against influenza caused by the H5N1 virus, otherwise known as the avian flu or bird flu.

Prepandrix, from GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, is a pre-pandemic vaccine that is intended to trigger an immune response against the H5N1 strain of the influenza virus before or during an officially declared influenza pandemic, in accordance with official guidance.

The EMEA recommendation has been submitted to the European Commission.

GlaxoSmithKline plans to file for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the vaccine by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported.