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A major limitation of presently licensed influenza vaccines is that they must be produced in embryonated chicken eggs. The process is cumbersome and slow, and with avian influenza strains, the embryo is killed so quickly that little vaccine can be produced from each egg. An alternative strategy is to produce recombinant influenza virus proteins by using a baculovirus to express these proteins in insect cells. In a manufacturer-funded, randomized controlled trial, researchers assessed the safety and efficacy of such a vaccine.
During the 2004–2005 flu season, 460 healthy adults were randomized to receive a single intramuscular injection of either placebo or one of two trivalent vaccines composed of different concentrations of baculovirus-expr…