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Steph Stephens (right), study co-ordinator at Southern Clinical Trials Tasman, with co-owners of the Nelson clinic, Tristan Riley and Dr Claire Thurlow. The site was the first in the Southern Hemisphere to start clinical trials of a Pfizer flu vaccine using mRNA technology.
In an unassuming building in the Nelson suburb of Stoke, pioneering medical research is under way.
The latest, for a Pfizer flu vaccine that – if proven effective – could become the first influenza vaccine on the market using mRNA, the technology in the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.
About 46,000 people worldwide were taking part in the clinical trial of the Pfizer flu vaccine, now in its third and final phase, the co-owners of the Southern Clinical Trials Tasman site on Main Road Stoke, GP Claire Thurlow and husband Tristan Riley said.
The Nelson clinic recently vaccinated the first participant in the Southern Hemisphere, after obtaining approval from the Ministry of Health for the research to be carried out in Aotearoa, they said.
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There was “a real need” to improve the performance of flu vaccines, which typically conferred 40% – 60% protection in people aged 65 and over, Riley said.
The clinic was looking for more people in that age group to take part in the research, who had not yet had their flu shot this year.
Influenza – or flu – was estimated to kill about 500 people a year in New Zealand.
Able to be manufactured more quickly than current flu vaccines, an mRNA-based influenza vaccine had the potential to provide greater protection against flu, Thurlow said.
Current vaccines were based on predictions of which strains would be circulating each winter, she said.
By the time the vaccines had been made, the strains may have mutated, reducing the effect of the vaccine, she said.
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GP Claire Thurlow and Tristan Riley are co-directors of Nelson clinic Southern Clinical Trials Tasman, a Nelson clinic undertaking studies on new vaccines and medicines for infectious diseases and conditions, from Covid-19 to asthma.
Most influenza vaccines, including those in Aotearoa, were made using a weakened or inactivated version of a virus, but MRNA vaccines used a molecule that taught cells how to trigger an immune response.
Participants in the trial of the mRNA-based Pfizer flu vaccine in New Zealand received either the study vaccine or a NZ-approved one, without knowing which.
Nasal swabs from anyone who developed cold or flu-like symptoms within six months were used to identify which virus might have caused the symptoms – with participants completing an eDiary and having blood samples taken to measure their immune response.
The study was one of 10 under way at the Nelson clinic, including for vaccines to prevent RSV, Covid-19, and New Zealand-based studies for medications, including new asthma inhalers.
The safety of those taking part was the clinic’s top priority, the pair said.
The clinic needed permission to review potential participants’ health records and undertook a health checkup to ensure it was safe and appropriate for them to take part.
It regularly monitored participants, keeping an eye on their health and carrying out checkups, received “real time” updates on global study safety data, and was constantly audited.
“At each stage, data has to show its working and safe and effective,” Thurlow said.
BRADEN FASTIER/Stuff
Southern Clinical Trial Tasman co-director and principal investigator, Dr Claire Thurlow with site operator Tristan Riley at their clinic in Stoke, Nelson.
The couple opened the clinic in 2020, wanting to set up a similar site for clinical trials to those in New Zealand’s main centres, and help advance preventative medicine to improve people’s health.
They were “amazed” by the community response, with volunteers coming from as far away as Blenheim, Golden Bay and the West Coast.
The clinic had the highest number of participants in New Zealand involved in a worldwide trial for a vaccine to prevent E.coli bacteria from UTI (urinary tract infection) in people over 60, the pair said.
Studies completed at the clinic included one that helped prove it was safe to receive a Covid-19 vaccine and a flu vaccine at the same time, Riley said.
“Every person taking part [in clinical trials]… we’re so grateful to them because they are contributing to improved health outcomes for all people.”
Anyone interested in participating could call the clinic, register on its website or respond to its ads on social media.