Vaccine production expanding in developing countries

BioProcess International recently took a look at the growing manufacturing demand in developing countries of vaccines. The big four Pharma companies are in control of the majority of the production of vaccines: Sanofi, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer.  With the world wide market valued at $30 billion a year, vaccines are in demand and widely considered a right and often create a healthier public.  As many governments are the only suppliers of healthcare in growing countries, they find the need to be able to produce these products within their borders so that they can reach their citizens.  New technologies are expanding the capabilities making vaccines affordable, quick and feasible in may of these countries.

Why is production in so many countries possible?  According to BioProcess International:
The great majority of those vaccines in the pipeline involve recombinant technologies, with bioprocessing and equipment much the same as for conventional recombinant proteins and antibodies. Vaccines in development include next-generation, follow-on versions of current products as well as new vaccines for diseases without curret available vaccines. Such diseases primarily affect populations in developing countries (e.g., dengue and malaria).

The technologies making this production possible are:
> Single-use/disposable bioprocessing systems, providing easier operation
> Modular/transportable bioprocessing facilities
> Novel expression systems/improved cell lines
> New purification technologies.

Read the full BioProcess International Article here.

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