Aviron Flumist

Executive Summary

Ongoing VA-administered Phase III study in which intranasal flu vaccine Flumist and flu shot are co-administered in over 2000 patients in 20 VA hospitals hopes to show concurrent protection for the elderly, CEO Fred Kurland said Sept. 28. Highlighting the possible pharmacoeconomic benefit, Kurland said the study aims to replicate results of an NIH study that showed a 60% increase in protection for the combination over the flu shot alone. Aviron plans to use non-traditional marketing methods for Flumist, such as e-commerce, Kurland said. A cytomegalovirus treatment being developed with NIH is currently on clinical hold, but Kurland expects to start clinical trials in early 2000