thoroughly verified and are exactly what we want t

Imugene set to trial bird flu vaccines

Biotechnology company Imugene Ltd is about to trial two potential avian influenza vaccines on chickens to see if they protect the fowls from the potentially fatal illness.

The challenge trials follow laboratory development of the candidate vaccines to fight the H5N1 virus, after the company started developing the technology at its facilities at La Trobe University.

"The vaccine candidates have been thoroughly verified by a series of in-house and external tests and are exactly what we want them to be," said Imugene managing director Dr Warwick Lamb.

"A pilot trial to test both candidates in a bird flu challenge trial has been designed and negotiations are underway to secure a trial facility and starting date."

The vaccines candidates have been engineered for both the broiler market and the broiler breeder and egg layer markets.

Imugene shares were up two cents or more than 17 per cent to 13.5 cents