Universal flu vaccine developer NasVax Ltd. (TASE: NSVX) today reported positive results in an animal study of its VaxiSome vaccine against swine flu. The study compared VaxiSome with Focetria, a commercial vaccine against swine flu made by Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS; LSE: NOV; SWX: NOVZ).
The study examined the level of H1 antibodies in the test subjects' blood after receiving the vaccine. These antibodies are the accepted indicator of the effectiveness of the vaccine against flu. The increase in the level of antibodies indicates the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The study results show that a combination of the viral antigen with NasVax's vaccine increased with statistical significance the level of antibodies in the test group of mice which received the NaxVax vaccine, compared with the groups of mice which only received the antigen, or which received Focetria against swine flu.
NasVax's share rose 13.3% by midday to NIS 2.12, giving a market cap of NIS 61 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 20, 2009
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009