PATH Invests $3M in Flu Vaccine Candidate

Luke Timmerman12/4/08

Seattle-based PATH, a nonprofit organization devoted to improving global health, said today it is investing $3 million in a vaccine candidate against pandemic flu. The vaccine is being developed by Lentigen, a Gaithersburg, MD-based biotech company. If successful, the vaccine will mimic the potentially deadly H5N1 strains of flu virus, known as “bird flu.” The vaccine is based on virus-like particles, that are supposed to provoke a strong response from the body’s immune system to a specific strain of viral invader, while being cheaply produced in large quantities, PATH said in a statement.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.