Safety and Immunogenicity of a Universal Influenza Vaccine Candidate

The constant shift in circulating human influenza strains lowers the effectiveness of seasonal influenza vaccines and poses vaccine manufacturing challenges. A vaccine that provides protection against influenza, regardless of strain variation, would be a major advance for public health. FLU-v, a vaccine candidate (not FDA approved) that is a mix of peptides based on the conserved regions of three different influenza proteins, has been shown to attenuate disease marginally in a controlled human influenza infection. Investigators have now randomized 175 volunteers (97% white; 44% men; mean age, 40 years) in a 2:2:1:1 ratio to receive two doses of adjuvanted FLU-v, FLU-v (nonadjuvanted), placebo, or adjuvant alone, in a partially manufacturer-…