USD Researcher Patents Potential Universal Influenza Vaccine
According to Huber, because influenza pandemics are often associated with the transmission of these viruses between different animal species, the vaccine was designed to prevent pandemics by limiting interspecies transmission events.
“This vaccine provides broad protection against influenza A viruses, and it can also be used to minimize the requirement for annual influenza vaccine re-formulation,” he said. “There has been a significant push toward the development of universal influenza vaccines, and this vaccine moves us closer to achieving this goal.”
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted this vaccine a patent, which allows Huber and his research group to advance the vaccine to the next stage of product development.
The technology - officially named “Compositions and Methods for Vaccination Against Influenza A Virus”- is currently being evaluated and tested as part of a partnership between the University of South Dakota, Kansas State University and the University of Georgia. In addition, collaborations with South Dakota State University are being used to better understand the interaction of vaccine-induced antibodies with aspects of the immune system.
