UK first country to launch CSL's trivalent flu shot Aujemflu
CSL Seqirus' manufacturing facility in Liverpool, UK.
An adjuvanted, trivalent influenza vaccine developed by CSL Seqirus and recently approved in the UK, Aujemflu, will be deployed ahead of the 2027/28 flu season under an agreement with the government.
Aujemflu (aTIVc/aIIVc) – which was approved for use in people aged 50 and over by the MHRA in June – is the first flu shot to combine three approaches to enhancing protection for older adults in a single vaccine, i.e., the use of an adjuvant (MF59), cell-based manufacturing, and a higher-dose formulation.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the NHS will be able to use Aujemflu for seasonal flu prevention for adults aged 65 years and over, as well as for at-risk adults aged 50 to 64 who are more vulnerable to the complications of the infection. Aujemflu was added to the flu vaccine recommendations by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in July.
The new deal also extends an existing agreement between the UK government and CSL Seqirus for pandemic flu vaccines, which will now continue through 2031. That gives the country an option to buy more than 100 million doses of pandemic flu vaccine if the World Health Organization (WHO) declares an influenza pandemic, with manufacturing based at CSL Seqirus' site in Liverpool. Aujemflu will also be made at that facility.
The company's global executive director, Marc Lacey, said the partnership with the UK is "helping to protect people each winter while maintaining the capability to respond rapidly to a future influenza pandemic from our Liverpool site."
Flu killed 3,798 people in England in the 2025/26 season, with most of those deaths (3,442) occurring in the 65-and-over age bracket.
Aujemflu is given as a single-dose injection into the upper arm by a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Its MHRA approval was based on a study of 7,699 participants aged 50 and over, which compared the vaccine to adjuvanted egg-based or recombinant quadrivalent jabs.
The results showed a stronger immune response with Aujemflu compared to the egg-based vaccine on all four strains at four weeks, and equivalency with the recombinant shot on three of the four, with a well-tolerated safety profile.
"Every winter, flu affects millions of families across the country, with older people among those particularly at risk," said Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Public Health and Patient Safety.
"That's why I'm proud that the UK is due to be the first country in the world to roll out a new vaccine next year targeted at older age groups along with existing vaccines," she added.
