Improving the Shelf Life of Stable Vaccines in India

Issue:
Traditional vaccines have a limited shelf-life and must be stored in controlled cool conditions.

At present, 50 per cent of all vaccines are wasted, partly due to real or suspected temperature damage. A new technology based on natural processes promises to revolutionise the international vaccine programme, enabling children, even in remote areas, to receive cheaper and safer immunisation from preventable killer diseases. This new technology has been developed by Cambridge Biostability, through a joint venture with Panacea Biotec, the world's second largest vaccine producer who is also based in India. The joint venture received funding from DFID’s Business Linkages Challenge Fund to bring into production a five-way childhood vaccine that can be stored without refrigeration and used to protect children from hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and haemophilus influenza B - a major cause of bacterial meningitis and pneumonia.

Approach:
The stable liquid technology is based on a natural phenomenon where some plants and creatures remain in a desiccated state for hundreds of years then, by increasing the sugar content of their fluids, rehydrate and return to life. The new technology uses vaccines (one or many) embedded in sugar beads and suspended in an inert liquid. Being without water, they are inherently bacteriostatic as bacteria need water to multiply, thus eliminating the need for antiseptics.
When injected in the same way as a traditional vaccine, the sugar beads dissolve in bodily fluids to release the vaccine. Using this technology, vaccines can be made stable across a range of temperatures, and can be stored without refrigeration for a much longer shelf life, reducing wastage and saving an estimated $100 million a year.


Impact:
The project, which is primarily health focussed and supports medical research in areas of particular relevance to the poor, is progressing well. With the construction of a pilot sterile manufacturing facility and favourable regulatory advice on the toxicology programme, Phase One clinical trials have commenced with favourable initial results. The programme is expected to progress to commercial manufacture in India in the near future.