A Kumamoto-based vaccine developer said it has reached an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Britain's GlaxoSmithKline PLC to quickly develop flu vaccines should an influenza pandemic hit Japan.
Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Institute in the city of Kumamoto and Tokyo-based GlaxoSmithKline K.K. will develop technology to mass-produce vaccines against new influenza. GSK's Belgian subsidiary, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A., will also join in.
The technology being eyed by the three parties will employ cell culture techniques to enable quick vaccine production after the new influenza is detected.
Under existing production methods, based on chicken eggs, it takes at least 18 months for vaccine to reach all people in Japan.