Green Cross said Thursday that it has received approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to begin domestic phase 1 clinical trials for GC3114, a high-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccine for the elderly.

The clinical trial is the first time by a domestic pharmaceutical company that started to develop a flu vaccine that has higher antigen content than the usual flu vaccine. In the case of high-dose quadrivalent vaccines, there are still no globally licensed products.

The drug comes to meet the rising need for a medication that can cure people 65 or older, who display lower immune responses than younger people do.

The high-dose flu vaccine is more effective in preventing flu in the elderly than the standard flu vaccine containing standard-dose antigens, according to a study by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While the regular flu vaccine shows 70-90 percent immune response in healthy adults, it only shows 17-53 percent immune response in the elderly.

Experts recommend that the elderly take a flu vaccine that is suitable to them.

The company has been focusing its efforts to dominate the flu vaccine market, with 10 flu-related vaccines developed over a nine-year span.

“Our company expects the development of an effective vaccine for the elderly with low immunity will reduce the social burden and cost of influenza,” a company official said. “We also plan to continue to expand market share in the global market.”

Copyright © KBR Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution prohibited