Protein Sciences and the CT Association for Healthcare at Home Will Provide Flublok® to Connecticut Home Health and Hospice Agencies

MERIDEN, Conn., May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Protein Sciences Corporation, along with The Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home (CTH@H), announced a new partnership today that will bring Flublok^® influenza vaccine to home health and hospice agencies across the state.  As a new affinity partner of CTH@H, Protein Sciences will make Flublok available to CTH@H member agencies for the 2015/16 flu season. 

"The Connecticut Association for Home Healthcare is the united voice for home and community-based care delivery in the state. This partnership brings new opportunities to create awareness for Flublok from a ground-up perspective," said Manon Cox, President and CEO of Protein Sciences Corporation. "Entering into an affinity partnership with CTH@H is an exciting opportunity to inform and engage the community-based workforce about Flublok and its unique features for their patients." 

"Ensuring that Connecticut's 20,000 home health and hospice agency employees have access to the Flublok vaccine for both their patient population as well as for themselves is a positive step toward the goal of limiting exposure and spread of the flu," said Deborah Hoyt, President and CEO of the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home.  "Home health workers are on the front line in terms of reaching the most vulnerable patients – the frail, homebound and disabled - making this new relationship with Protein Sciences a strategic step toward improving population health in Connecticut.

For more information about Flublok, please visit www.flublok.com.

For more information about The Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home, please visit www.cthealthcareathome.org

About Protein Sciences
Protein Sciences specializes in vaccine development and protein production.   Our mission is our inspiration: to save lives and improve health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals.     

Flublok, the world's first recombinant protein-based vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease, was approved by FDA in January 2013.  Flublok is the only flu vaccine made in a 100% egg-free system using modern cell culture technology, making it unnecessary to use an infectious influenza virus or antibiotics in manufacturing.  Flublok is highly purified and does not contain any preservatives (e.g., thimerosal, a mercury derivative), egg proteins, gelatin or latex.  In addition, Flublok contains three times more antigen than traditional flu vaccines (3x45mcg hemagglutinin protein versus 3x15mcg hemagglutinin protein)*.   Flublok is a perfect copy of the virus coat and is not subject to the egg-adapted mutations associated with low vaccine effectiveness (see Skowronski et al. (2014) PLOS ONE 9(3), e92153).

Healthcare professionals wishing to pre-order Flublok should contact one of the following distributors:

• FFF Enterprises: 800-843-7477 www.myfluvaccine.com
• Cardinal Health: 866-677-4844 http://www.cardinal.com/us/en/SPD/Ordering
• McKesson: 877-MCK-4FLU mms.mckesson.com

Learn more at www.proteinsciences.com and www.flublok.com.

Flublok Safety Information
Flublok is approved for people 18 and older to prevent influenza disease.  The most common side effect from Flublok is pain at the site of injection. Headache, fatigue or muscle ache may occur.

Tell the doctor if you have ever experienced Guillain-Barre syndrome (severe muscle weakness) or have had a severe allergic reaction to any component of Flublok vaccine.

Vaccination with Flublok may not protect all individuals. Clinical effectiveness in adults 50 and older is based on the immune response elicited by Flublok and not on demonstration of decreased influenza disease. 

Please see the complete Package Insert available at www.flublok.com or call 203-686-0800 for more information.

*Flublok demonstrated a higher antibody response to the A strains during 2 clinical trials in adults >50 years old.  The B strain antibody response was comparable to traditional trivalent vaccines.

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SOURCE Protein Sciences Corporation

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