Clinical-stage biotechnology company Centivax Inc announced on Thursday that the first participants have been dosed in the company's Phase 1A clinical trial evaluating Centi-Flu 01, a pan-influenza universal flu vaccine, in healthy volunteers.

The trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose escalation study with an open-label active-controlled phase, to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of Centi-Flu 01 in healthy adults 18-64 years of age, and those 65 and older.

According to Centivax, Phase 1A represents a key milestone toward a new kind of flu vaccine designed to provide broader, more reliable protection than standard seasonal vaccines -- protecting against currently circulating strains, future strains, and pandemic strains.

Unlike conventional seasonal influenza vaccines, which must be reformulated annually to attempt to match predicted circulating strains, Centi-Flu 01 is designed to focus both antibody and cellular immune responses on conserved regions of the influenza virus that cannot mutate and are shared across strains and distance subtypes. This approach aims to generate broad, consistent, and durable immunity against both seasonal and pandemic influenza.

Sawsan Youssef, PhD, Centivax founder and chief science officer, said: "For decades, flu vaccination has been reactive. A universal influenza vaccine allows us to be proactive -- moving from annual guesswork to predictable durable response."