| Ian Sellick at Pall Life Sciences explores new methods for streamlining conjugate vaccine production
Vaccines are a group of products that include some of the oldest biological pharmaceutical entities. While the eradication of some historic diseases has led to a lower need for prophylaxis, the resurgent threat of bioterrorism has given impetus to finding new and rapid methods for producing vaccines against a range of new and old threats, such as anthrax. Several new manufacturing technologies have emerged as a result.
Manufacturers and governments are faced with many challenges associated with developing and producing vaccines. These include disease resistance of some strains of organism, such as tuberculosis; difficulties in providing vaccines suitable for immunosuppressed patients; vaccination inefficacy in certain age groups; and the need to provide vaccines to greater numbers of people at lower cost.
This article provides an in-depth view of the conjugate vaccine market. Beyond exploring the history, mechanisms of action and market factors affecting these vaccines, the article also highlights new manufacturing techniques that speed production. An overview of the myriad classes of traditional vaccines is also provided.
THE EMERGENCE OF CONJUGATE VACCINES
Until the mid-1980s, many basic vaccines were available which were effective in combating many of the world’s worst infectious diseases (see Table 1). However, there were still large groups within the population that were left unprotected against relatively common diseases. In particular, young children could not be efficaciously vaccinated against common childhood complaints such as Haemophilus. Although a vaccine was available, it relied on the development of an antigenic response to the bacterial cell wall polysaccharides. In older children and adults, the immune system is mature enough to develop such a response, which invokes a direct B-cell response, are T-cell independent. However, this is not the case in infants. |
