Duke vaccine institute to partner with Novartis on pandemic vaccines

Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute will work with Novartis (NYSE:NVS) to rapidly develop a vaccine in case of a pandemic virus, according to a new five-year agreement.

The team of Duke and Novartis investigators will have access to resources at both Duke University and Novartis’ vaccine manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The facilities are less than 30 miles apart. The agreement calls for all parties and facilities to be activated and operational within 24 hours of a move to emergency pandemic status based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and others.

The agreement should help expedite the development of a vaccine in the event of a pandemic. During the H1N1 influenza pandemic, vaccines weren’t generally available until the pandemic was in decline. Outside of a pandemic, the agreement also calls for both institutions to work on vaccine studies.

“While we all hope we never need to respond to an emergency pandemic threat, there will be no shortage of opportunities to collaborate on vaccine-based research endeavors,” Thomas Denny, chief operating officer for the Duke Human Vaccine Institute said in a prepared statement.