Meriden company producing H1N1 vaccine

Meriden (WTNH) - A Meriden company has the green light from the government to start H1N1 vaccine trials in the United States. With the start of the school year and the fall flu season rapidly approaching the pressure is on to get a vaccine out to the public.

Protein Sciences may have the best and fastest way of making new vaccines, and now they have millions of dollars in federal money to help them expand.

"Protein Sciences is developing a revolutionary new method of developing vaccines both for the regular seasonal flu and for the H1N1 virus," said Congressman Chris Murphy (D-5th District).

Protein Sciences was the first company to make an H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine.

"We are already doing clinical trials with H1N1 vaccine in Australia where it is winter and where they're in the midst of an H1N1 outbreak there, so their sense of urgency down there was a little bit higher than the U.S.," said Dan Adams, CEO, Protein Sciences.

That's why it will probably be November or December before their vaccine is approved. Protein Sciences uses a different method for making vaccines. They brew it like beer instead of growing it in an egg like other biotech companies. The trouble is, it's a small company.

"For the novel H1N1 vaccine we could make about 100,000 doses a week, but obviously with a population of 300,000,000 in the U.S. alone, you would like to be able to make much more vaccine," said Dr. Manon Cox, Protein Sciences.

Which is where the $147 million federal contract comes in. This is where they will brew more vaccine in coming years. Congressman Chris Murphy toured it to see how the company will react to future outbreaks and how it is dealing with the current one.

"We are very concerned about what lies ahead for Connecticut and for this entire country with the H1N1 virus really taking hold this winter," Murphy said.