The Commercialization Of Flumist ( Medimmune ) The First...

The FDA approved in 2003 the commercialization of FluMist ® (MedImmune) the first influenza vaccine with attenuated virus. This trivalent vaccine is administrated via intranasal spray because the virus replicates in cells lining the nasopharynx [21–23]. Use of live-attenuated vaccine has been limited to individuals two through forty-nine years of age based on a failed efficacy to prevent febrile illness in adults fifty through sixty five years of age [22]. As in the TIV the first step for the vaccine production is the generation of the viral seeds that presents the circulating HA and NA and six internal segments (PA, PB1, PB2, NS, NP, M) from the cold-adapted (ca) A/Ann Arbor/6/60 or ca B/Ann Arbor/1/66 (the master donor virus for LAIV (MDV)) [24, 25]. The manufacture of approved FluMist ® is also based on the injection in embryonated eggs of the reassortant virus and the recovery of the allantoic fluid with the screening of the reassortant that grows well at 25 ºC (cold -adapted) and present restricted growth (ta) at 37-39 ºC and is attenuated (att). The vaccine is tested in the ferret model [22]. Once the reassortant virus is selected, it is then injected in fertilized eggs pathogen free (SPF) that are incubated between 48-72h at 35-37 ºC. The allantoic fluid is recovered and clarified by filtration. The virus is concentrated by ultrafiltration and diluted using a stabilizing agent to obtain the final sucrose and potassium phosphate concentration. The virus harvest is thenShow MoreRelatedMedimmune Case Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesMedImmune Case Study Background MedImmune is dedicated to helping patients live better lives through advances in science and medicine. Hundreds of thousands of patients have benefited from their products, which are designed to treat or prevent infectious diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases (Wikipedia, 2012). Their extensive research and development efforts are focused on these same areas. MedImmune acquired FluMist when it purchased Aviron in 2002. FluMist is Aviron’s lead product for