Dynavax said Monday preclinical data indicates its flu vaccine confers immunity against several strains of the influenza virus.

“The unique advantage of Dynavax’s flu vaccine is our proprietary conjugation technology that chemically links the ISS molecule with highly conserved viral antigens to confer a potent immunogenic and cross-protective effect regardless of the viral strain,” said Gary Van Nest, Dynavax’s vice president of preclinical research.

“We believe that our flu vaccine represents a potential breakthrough in the prevention of disease caused by serious, widespread viral outbreaks and may be a first line of defense against the event of a flu pandemic,” Van Nest added.

The company said it plans to move the vaccine to clinical trials “as expeditiously as possible.”

The preclinical research, which was presented at the Conference on Novel Vaccines in Cambridge, Mass., found that mice that were given the vaccine developed immunity against widely divergent flu strains.

Experiments involving mice and primates showed that co-administration of Dynavax’s flu vaccine with standard vaccine enhances the immune response and may allow for reducing the dosage.