1. Universal Influenza Vaccines
What It Can Do: Creates Antibodies For Multiple Flu Variants
Discovered By: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Est. Cost: Unknown*
Over the past year and a half, good or bad, we have learned quite a bit about vaccines that have been developed to fight life-threatening viruses. The problem is that viruses mutate, and not all variants are defeated, as easily, by the formulas that have been designed to fight them. Claiming between a quarter and a half of a million lives every year, influenza is a prime example of this.
Universal Influenza Vaccines ©hedgehog94 / Shutterstock.com
NIAID’s FluMos-v1 is a quadrivalent vaccine that uses mosaic nanoparticle immunogenicity to create antibodies for a wide range of Flu strains. In other words, once FDA approved, one shot of FluMos-v1 will protect against 4 different Flu strains each year – now, that’s protection.