PARIS, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-Aventis Group, has started the first clinical trial of a new generation of H7N1 pandemic vaccine to fight against bird flu, the company announced Tuesday in a statement.

    "The trial with the vaccine would expand the Sanofi Pasteur's preparation to the flu pandemic, which is initiated with the development of H5N1 vaccine," the statement said.

    The company also said that while most vaccine development has focused on H5N1 strains, the H7 avian viruses remain a significant pandemic threat.

    The trial is the first to assess the safety and ability to generate an immune response of a split, inactivated prototype pandemic H7N1 vaccine produced on cells, Sanofi said.

    This phase I clinical trail is conducted in a project of Flupan, a European Union (EU) funded collaboration, and financed by EU. Initiated on Tuesday in Bergen, Norway, the trial is intended to improve the level of pandemic preparation in EU countries. Enditem