FDA approves first flu vaccine using new manufacturing technique

On Nov. 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Flucelvax, the first seasonal influenza vaccine licensed in the United States produced using cultured animal cells, instead of fertilized chicken eggs. Advantages of cell culture technology include the ability to maintain an adequate supply of readily available, previously tested and characterized cells for use in vaccine production and the potential for a faster start-up of the vaccine manufacturing process in the event of a pandemic. Read more.