AS03

AS03 is the abbreviation for the adjuvant system 03, an adjuvant manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which serves as the active amplifier in vaccines.

It is used in the approved in the European Union swine flu vaccine Pandemrix to fight the pandemic H1N1 2009.

AS03 is an oil- in-water emulsion; in Pandemrix contains a dose of 0.5 ml of 10.69 mg squalene 11.86 mg DL- α -tocopherol ( vitamin E) and 4.86 mg of the emulsifier polysorbate 80 in a phosphate buffer solution. The emulsion is mixed before application with the antigen suspension for injection finished dispersion.

AS03 was tested among others as an adjuvant in the pandemic influenza vaccine against influenza A H5N1 virus in a study conducted in Asia. In animal studies, after injection of pure, non- emulsified squalene in a study in rats the development of arthritis observed in a study in mice, the occurrence of certain autoimmune disorders.