India, Oct. 14 -- Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is collaborating with Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), part of Cyrus Poonawalla Group, to boost pandemic response preparedness using a baculovirus vaccine platform to target H5N1 bird flu as a prototype for a potential Disease X-an as-yet-unknown pathogen with pandemic potential.

Supported by CEPI funding of up to $16.4 million, SII will use its validated baculovirus-based platform to produce and compare two H5 antigens for a recombinant protein vaccine: a wild-type and an AI-optimised, broad-spectrum H5 antigen designed by scientists at Houston Methodist Research Institute. The broad-spectrum approach is designed to elicit immune responses ac...