Sino Biological Launches Antigens for 2026-2027 Influenza Vaccine Strains Following WHO Recommendations
核心洞察
The World Health Organization has announced recommendations for the 2026-2027 Northern Hemisphere influenza (搜索) vaccine composition, highlighting the dominance of H3N2 subclade K (搜索) and rising B/Victoria lineage (搜索) circulation.
H3N2 subclade K (搜索), identified in August 2025 and defined by T135K and S144N mutations, exhibits enhanced immune escape properties and has become the dominant global influenza (搜索) A strain.
Sino Biological (搜索) has rapidly launched a comprehensive portfolio of recombinant antigens for the updated vaccine strains, including high-purity HA (搜索) trimers and validated proteins for vaccine development.
The World Health Organization has announced its recommendations for the 2026-2027 Northern Hemisphere influenza (搜索) vaccine composition, prompting biotechnology company Sino Biological (搜索) to rapidly launch a comprehensive panel of antigens targeting the updated strains. The WHO recommendations highlight two critical developments: the continued global spread of A(H3N2) subclade K and the emerging circulation of new B/Victoria lineage (搜索) strains.
H3N2 Subclade K Dominates Global Circulation
Since its identification in August 2025, H3N2 subclade K (搜索) (J.2.4.1) has become the dominant influenza (搜索) A strain worldwide. This strain is characterized by specific T135K and S144N mutations that confer enhanced immune escape properties, representing a significant evolutionary development in influenza virus adaptation. The enhanced immune escape capabilities of this strain prompted WHO to select A/Darwin/1454/2025 as the new H3N2 reference virus for both egg-based and cell-based vaccine production platforms.
The H1N1 (搜索) component of the vaccine has also been updated to A/Missouri/11/2025, available in both egg-based and cell-based formulations, reflecting ongoing surveillance efforts to match circulating strains with vaccine compositions.
Rising B/Victoria Lineage Activity
Influenza (搜索) B activity is experiencing a sharp increase globally, with particularly notable trends in Hong Kong SAR and the United States. The proportion of B/Victoria lineage (搜索) viruses has increased dramatically from 6% to over 20% in these regions, representing a significant shift in the influenza landscape that necessitated WHO's recommendation of new B strains.
In response to this emerging pattern, WHO has recommended B/Tokyo/EIS13-175/2025 for egg-based production and B/Pennsylvania/14/2025 for cell-based vaccine development for the upcoming season.
Comprehensive Antigen Portfolio Launch
Sino Biological (搜索) has launched an extensive portfolio of recombinant antigens designed to support global influenza (搜索) vaccine research and development for the 2026-2027 season. The company's offerings span key viral antigens including Hemagglutinin (搜索) (HA (搜索)), Neuraminidase (NA), and Nucleoprotein (搜索) (NP (搜索)).
The H1N1 (搜索) reagents include A/Missouri/11/2025 (H1N1) HA (搜索) Trimer expressed in HEK293 cells with purity ≥90% verified by SEC-MALS, with activity validated by ELISA. NA and NP (搜索) antigens for this strain are currently available.
For the H3N2 subclade K (搜索) proteins, recombinant HA (搜索), NA, and NP (搜索) antigens aligned with A/Darwin/1454/2025 are now available. The company is developing influenza (搜索) B reagents for B/Tokyo/EIS13-175/2025 and B/Pennsylvania/14/2025 strains.
Quality and Technical Specifications
The company's stable HA (搜索) trimers maintain high purity and are SEC-MALS validated to preserve native conformation, which is critical for accurate immune characterization studies. This technical approach ensures that the recombinant proteins accurately represent the antigenic properties of the circulating strains.
"Our mission is to provide the scientific community with the highest quality tools as rapidly as possible when infectious disease evolution threatens global health preparedness," said Dr. Rob Burgess, Chief Business Officer at Sino Biological (搜索) US.
Global Research Support
Sino Biological (搜索) serves researchers in more than 90 countries, supporting basic research, drug discovery, vaccine development, and diagnostics through its comprehensive product portfolio and proprietary quality systems. The company's rapid response to WHO recommendations demonstrates the critical role of biotechnology companies in supporting global pandemic preparedness efforts.
The launch of these antigens represents a crucial step in enabling vaccine manufacturers and research institutions to begin development and testing of updated influenza (搜索) vaccines that match the evolving viral landscape for the 2026-2027 influenza season.