PARIS, Dec. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Preliminary trials of a vaccine against the H5N1 strain of bird flu showed encouraging results, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis said Thursday.

    "Preliminary results of clinical trials ... demonstrated a good immune response in a signficant number of volunteers," Sanofi-Aventis, which developed the vaccine, said in a statement.

    "Preliminary results showed that the vaccine is safe and well-tolerated in 300 healthy volunteers," said the statement.

    Sanofi-Aventis has a contract with France's health ministry to produce 1.4 million doses of the prototype vaccine before the end of the year. Enditem