November 9, 2009 MIT holds forum on preventing infectious diseases Play video

(NECN: Scot Yount, Cambridge, Mass.) - The slow delivery of the H1N1 flu vaccine has been a headline story for weeks. Because of that, there's been a push to find other medicines to battle the virus.

Tonight, a special forum was held at MIT.

"Influenza virus is impossible to control and once they emerge it is impossible to predict what they will do."

Which is why vaccination is so important. The global public health concern over the H1N1 virus and the shortage of vaccine has resulted in long lines of people anxious to vaccinate themselves and their families all around the U.S.

At MIT's Enterprise forum, a session on the R and D end of preventing and treating infectious diseases. Researchers are glad to have the attention and the growing interest from investors, but say not enough is being done to improve existing vaccines and pioneer new ones.

"There tends to be a lot of hype about pandemic or latest emerging disease but all the time there are people dying of vaccine preventable diseases."

In the case of the H1N1 vaccine, the largest problem has been supply, part of that is because many vaccines are right now produced with methods that are half a century old.

Newer processes like cell culture technology are being introduced to stream-line manufacture….but it is only one hurdle.

Nearly everyone agrees that the largest challenge drug and vaccine makers face is the regulatory process. The scrutiny to make sure that vaccines

are safe is in most cases more rigorous because vaccinations are by definition a medicine given to people who are not sick.