A new approach to fighting flu

PHILADELPHIA — Walter Gerhard labors far from Southeast Asia, where a virulent flu strain is killing birds and threatens to start a flu pandemic.

But his work in an orderly laboratory at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia still puts him on influenza's front line.

Gerhard is testing a prototype vaccine that could play a critical role in protecting people from the flu — especially against a lethal pandemic strain. Some experts believe it could lead to a long-lasting shot that might make annual flu clinics a thing of the past.

Though the research is still in its earliest stages, "It has the potential of providing much broader protection," Gerhard said.

While his preliminary research is confined to mice, Gerhard's prototype vaccine is attracting attention. It mimics a tiny but relatively stable viral protein called matrix 2, or M2. Rodents mount a strong antibody response when inoculated with the prototype M2 vaccine, and the vaccine significantly curbed the spread of the virus in the infected animals.

Gerhard said the encouraging results might not be replicated in people.

Gerhard runs one of several research groups that see the M2 protein as a tantalizing target in the fight against the flu. Merck & Co., for instance, has data suggesting that its vaccine sparked an immune response in mice, ferrets and rhesus monkeys.

Andrew Pekosz, a Washington University assistant professor, said his team also had positive results in mice, and he hoped their vaccine would be ready for human trials in a year.

"All of us are at various stages of development," said Pekosz, who collaborates with the nonprofit Vaccine Research Institute in San Diego. "It is not redundant. All of us have our own take" on how to do it.

"Clearly the animal data so far suggests that this is so far worthwhile," said Robert Belshe, who runs St. Louis University School of Medicine's vaccine center.

While it is unlikely that the M2 vaccine would be administered only once in a person's life, it may protect people for a number of years, said Linda Lambert, respiratory diseases branch chief at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Developing a long-lasting flu vaccine would be a scientific coup. As it is now inconvenient and costly to get a yearly shot, many people — even those most vulnerable to the disease — don't.

Lambert, whose agency helps fund Gerhard and Pekosz, said that of the new experimental approaches, the M2 strategy holds the most promise for lengthening the period of protection. Other new vaccine approaches also are being tried, such as targeting a protein inside the virus.

•	A new approach to fighting flu Philadelphia Inquirer, Tuesday, June 21, 2005 Byline: Marian Uhlman

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