The new initiative will focus on research using the beta-propiolactone vaccine platform<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Stephanie Brown HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health announced a new initiative called “Generation Gold Standard” to develop next-generation, universal vaccines using a beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated, whole-virus platform.<\/p>\n
According to a press release issued by the NIH, the initiative will fund the institute’s in-house development of universal influenza and coronavirus vaccines, including candidates BPL-1357 and BPL-24910. The goal of these vaccines is to provide broad-spectrum protection against multiple strains of pandemic-prone viruses such as bird flu and various coronaviruses.<\/p>\n
The NIH states: “Unlike traditional vaccines that target specific strains, BPL-inactivated whole-virus vaccines preserve the virus’s structural integrity while eliminating infectivity. This approach induces robust B and T cell immune responses and offers long-lasting protection across diverse viral families. Moreover, the intranasal formulation of BPL-1357 is currently in Phase Ib and II\/III trials and is designed to block virus transmission — an innovation absent from current flu and COVID-19 vaccines.”<\/p>\n
The BPL platform is fully government-owned and free from commercial conflicts of interest, the NIH notes. The platform is also adaptable for future use against respiratory syncytial virus, metapneumovirus, and parainfluenza.<\/p>\n
Clinical trials for universal influenza vaccines are scheduled to begin in 2026, with U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval anticipated in 2029. The intranasal BPL-1357 flu vaccine is currently in advanced trials, with FDA review expected by 2029.<\/p>\n
CBS News<\/em> reports<\/a> that the HHS has transferred $500 million to the Generation Gold Standard initiative. The money was earmarked for research into next-generation COVID-19 vaccines. This decision appears to have bypassed the standard review processes typically managed by career scientists at the NIH and Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; these processes are intended to help guarantee that federal funding goes to projects with the strongest scientific value.<\/p>\n Jeffery Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D., the current acting head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which has exclusively developed Generation Gold Standard, holds a patent for the BPL vaccine platform.<\/p>\n