FDA approves first four-strain flu vaccine

AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its biologics arm, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for FluMist® Quadrivalent (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) in the prevention of influenza. This marks the first four-strain influenza vaccine approved by the FDA.

All other licensed seasonal influenza vaccines currently available in the US are trivalent, containing three strains (two strains of type A influenza (A/H1N1 and A/H3N2) and one B lineage strain). FluMist Quadrivalent contains four strains (two type A strains and two type B lineages) to help provide broad protection against circulating influenza A and B.

“MedImmune and AstraZeneca are pleased to be able to take the next steps in making this product available to the public. We believe that the inclusion of an additional B strain in an annual influenza vaccine could provide a direct health benefit to individual vaccine recipients in the event that the correct B lineage either is not selected for inclusion in a trivalent vaccine, or if both lineages co-circulate,” said Bahija Jallal, MedImmune’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development.