IFPMA

The IFPMA is the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations.

According to Medical News Today: "The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations is the global non-profit NGO representing research-based pharmaceutical, biotech and vaccine companies and national industry associations in developed and developing countries. The industry's R&D pipeline contains hundreds of new medicines and vaccines being developed to address global disease threats, including cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS and malaria. The IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal and the IFPMA Health Partnerships Survey help make the industry's activities more transparent. The IFPMA strengthens patient safety by improving risk assessment of medicines and combating their counterfeiting. It also provides the secretariat for the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH)."

H5N1
The H5N1 pandemic threat has caused a vast increase in funding to influenza research.

"The IFPMA's research-based vaccine manufacturing members are conducting a growing number of clinical trials of 'prototype' influenza vaccines, designed to counter to the threats of avian and pandemic influenza. [...] A total of 31 avian/pandemic prototype vaccine clinical trials are now listed by IFPMA, compared to 28 in January 2006. These vaccine trials involve 15 manufacturers, located in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK and USA. Sanofi Pasteur alone has no less than eight different vaccine trials either recently completed or underway. A total of eleven Phase II clinical trials of prototype vaccines are either on-going or planned for 2006. Three prototype vaccines, one from Chiron / Novartis and two from GSK, have already been submitted as 'Mock Up' dossiers for approval by the EU regulatory authority (EMEA). The majority of projects target specific strains of influenza virus (H2N2, H5N1, wild type H5N1, H5N3, H7N1, H7N7, H9N2), but Merck focuses on development of a universal influenza vaccine, using an M-2 peptide conjugate protein. Among the influenza strain-targeted projects, 26 use an inactivated virus (10 whole virus, 10 split virus, 6 surface antigen), and 4 use a live attenuated virus. Almost all prototype vaccines use a traditional injection delivery system, although MedImmune uses a nasal spray. Sixteen projects use Aluminum salt as an adjuvant. Berna/Crucell uses a virosome carrier/adjuvant system; CSL, Aluminum phosphate; Chiron/Novartis, MF59 and GSK, a novel adjuvant system. Twenty-five projects use the traditional egg culture technology currently used to manufacture seasonal influenza vaccines, while 6 use cell culture systems."