Australian Swine flu vaccine 'in record time'

NEW technology has been used to develop the first Australian batch of a new vaccine against the H1N1 swine flu virus.

University of Queensland researchers developed the vaccine just two weeks after receiving the genetic construct from the United States.

Professor Anton Middelberg, from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Brisbane, said the vaccine matched the virus found in the first US case of swine flu, a 10-year-old boy in San Diego.

Prof Middelberg said the new technology, from US firm Protein Sciences Corporation, was able to produce vaccines more quickly than conventional methods based on eggs.

"We only received the genetic construct from PSC two weeks ago and we have been able to produce the vaccine already, which is an amazing achievement," Prof Middelberg said.

The vaccine was not yet registered for use in Australia, but Prof Middelberg hoped that clinical trials could be fast-tracked.

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