Swiss Firm Starts Research Into SARS Vaccine

Swiss vaccines firm Berna Biotech said on Tuesday it had started research into the development of a vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome, the flu-like disease that has killed 464 people since it broke out last year, Reuters reports.

The firm said that after four months to six months it might be able to determine the likelihood of success, what was needed in terms of resources to make a vaccine, and how long it would take before a vaccine would reach the market. U.S. scientists last month asked more than a dozen American and European health care companies, including Berna, to help develop a vaccine to protect against SARS.

Officials have said it could take years to come up with a safe and effective vaccine.