The oldest and most famous vaccination method is to use the entire pathogenic pathogen in the vaccine to generate an immune response similar to that seen during natural infection. The use of pathogens in their natural state can cause active diseases, and may pose a potential danger to the individuals who receive it, as well as the risk of spreading the disease to others. To avoid this, modern vaccines have used altered pathogens. Alfa Chemistry provides customers with complete solutions to support their vaccine development process.
Types of Vaccines
The first-generation vaccines included most influenza vaccines and used attenuated or inactivated viruses. As far as influenza vaccines are concerned, these vaccines have traditionally been produced by inoculating chicken embryos. Recent developments using mammalian cell-based cultures (such as HEK-293 cells) have the potential to increase vaccine effectiveness and allow greater process flexibility.
Live Attenuated Vaccine
Live attenuated vaccines contain whole bacteria or viruses that have been "weakened" (attenuated), so they will produce a protective immune response, but they will not cause disease in healthy people. For most modern vaccines, this "weakening" is achieved through genetic modification of pathogens, whether as a naturally occurring phenomenon or as a modification specifically introduced by scientists.
Figure.1 Live attenuated vaccines for pandemic influenza. (Chen G. L, et al. 2009)
Inactivated Vaccine
Inactivated vaccines contain whole bacteria or viruses that have been killed or altered, so they cannot replicate. Because inactivated vaccines do not contain any live bacteria or viruses, they will not cause the diseases they protect, even in people with severely weakened immune systems. However, inactivated vaccines do not always produce a strong or long-lasting immune response like live attenuated vaccines.
Our Solutions
Maintaining sterility during a series of large-scale vaccine manufacturing and formulation steps requires careful process design. Some adjuvants are often added in the production of vaccines. These adjuvants are removed during the filtration process. To meet these challenges, sterile conditions need to be maintained throughout the process, which can be simplified by using a one-time closure process.
Harvest and Clarification
The solutions we provide vary depending on the cell culture process. You can use the polymer depth filter to remove solid contaminants during the cell culture process and prepare for further purification and preparation.
Fluid Handling
The sterile connectors we provide help maintain sterility during the entire process of connecting and disconnecting fluid paths. When used in combination with biological treatment bags and pipeline transfer devices, these disposable fluid flow paths can be used to combine multiple vaccine strains to simplify the process while ensuring quality.
Reference
- Chen G. L, et al. (2009). "Live Attenuated Vaccines for Pandemic Influenza." Vaccines for Pandemic Influenza. pp 109-132.