NIH to launch influenza vaccine research centers

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is launching a network of research centers that will work to develop better influenza vaccines.

NIAID – which is part of the National Institutes of Health — will provide up to $51 million in funding for the initiative, called the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers (CIVICs) program. The allocation is designed to support the CIVICs program centers for more than seven years.

“To more effectively fight influenza on a global scale, we need better influenza vaccines that are more broadly protective,” NIAID Director Anthony Fauci said. “With the CIVICs program, we hope to encourage an exchange of ideas, technology, and scientific results across multiple institutions to facilitate a more efficient and coordinated approach to novel influenza vaccine development.”

Influenza causes hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While influenza vaccines are widely available, they could be improved. One of the issues is that they do not always protect against all strains of circulating influenza viruses. Thus, before flu season, scientists must make their best prediction as to which circulating viruses will be dominant. But the effectiveness of the vaccine will be limited if the strain is new or has evolved.

The CIVICs network will work to develop universal influenza vaccines, which could provide longer-lasting protection than current vaccines and against a wider variety of viruses.

The CIVICs program will consist of three vaccine centers – one vaccine manufacturing and toxicology center, two clinical enters, and one statistical, data management, and coordination center.

The vaccine centers were awarded to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, N.Y. City; Duke University, Durham, N.C.; and the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. The vaccine manufacturing and toxicology centers were awarded to Duke University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. The statistical, data management, and coordination center was awarded to Digital Infuzion, Inc., in Gaithersburg, Md.