A universal flu vaccine could save countless lives, and now it is one step closer. Ordinary flu vaccines have to change every year as the virus evolves, but the process can miss unexpected strains and is too slow to catch pandemics. However, vaccine targeting a protein called M2e might not have these problems, because the protein is virtually identical in all influenza A viruses – the type that cause pandemics and much ordinary flu.
Ten companies are working on M2e vaccines, including Acambis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, which last week reported the results of a human trial. Its vaccine, which combines M2e…
