Biotech, vaccines, PATH

PATH Invests $3M in Flu Vaccine Candidate

Luke Timmerman 12/4/08

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 Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.