Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination

Global vaccine supply: The increasing role of manufacturers from middle income countries

6^th Euro Global Summit and Expo on Vaccines & Vaccination

August 17-19, 2015 Birmingham, UK

Donald P Francis

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Vaccines Vaccin

Abstract:

As the causative agents of human infectious diseases have been discovered over the years, and approaches to their diagnosis
and prevention developed, great progress for disease control has followed. A hallmark date in the history of infectious
disease control using vaccines was October 1977. That was the onset of the last case of community-acquired smallpox in the
world. For this disease, the protection of humans by inoculating them with cowpox had been discovered almost 200 years
before. But it was the technologic advances of vaccine production, developed in the mid-1900s, which gave public health
the tool that enabled the world to eradicate the disease. These advances enabled production of a low cost, heat stable vaccine
that was easy to reconstitute and deliver. The supply of millions of doses of this highly effective vaccine enabled the successful
eradication of this deadly disease. A second hallmark era occurred between 1950 and 1970 with the development and delivery
of large numbers of additional childhood vaccines. During this period, great advances were made in growing and safely and
effectively inactivating microorganisms. And a slew of safe and effective vaccines emerged. A third hallmark was the licensure
in 1986 of the first recombinant protein vaccine for hepatitis B virus. Since then there has been a veritable rush of new, safe and
effective vaccines that take advantage of a wide variety of new technological advancements for development, production and
delivery of vaccines. These advances have led to the licensure of vaccines for meningitis, pneumonia, haemophilus influenza B,
hepatitis B, typhoid, hepatitis A, rotavirus, HPV (cervical cancer), Japanese encephalitis and more. Importantly, the decreases
in the burden of diseases resulting from the application of these vaccines have not been limited to the wealthy residing in the
industrialized nations of the world. Indeed, with concerns for disease occurrence in all corners of the world, nations and
wealthy, socially conscious organizations have put resources into vaccine development, purchase and delivery so that children
in all corners of the world could realize the benefits. Here a forth hallmark is emerging as more and more of the world’s vaccine
supply is now increasingly being produced in high-tech facilities in middle income countries (MICs). Not only have many
of these countries become self-sufficient in vaccine production, but many are now supplying high quality vaccines to their
neighbors.