Flu Vaccine 2009 Produced, Ready for Testing
Flu Cell Tissue Cultures Used for Pandemic Swine H1N1 Vaccine
Jun 12, 2009
The technology for flu vaccines has taken a dramatic, new and very good turn. Chicken eggs are no longer the mainstay for production of flu vaccines, and that is good news as will be seen below. Soon millions of doses of highly-protective vaccine should be available throughout the world. Vaccination costs will run into the billions world-wide and that large expense for producing safe and effective vaccines can save lives and prevent illness.
Cell and Tissue Culture Vaccines Compared with Egg-Based Influenza Vaccines
The important production time and allergy considerations for vaccine production are compared below:
- Egg-based vaccines take 6–9 months to get into full production, may produce egg allergies or exacerbate allergies in people who have them.
- Cell culture-derived vaccines are up and running into full production within weeks and massive large amounts can be produced without fear of egg allergy problems.
Flu Cell and Tissue Culture-Derived Vaccines, What They Are, How They Work
Here are the Novartis procedures for production of the new flu vaccine:
- MDCK cells (derived in 1958 from a healthy dog's kidney) are removed from a deep freezer at -196 degrees centigrade and thawed. These cells are optimal for flu virus production.
- Cells are added to 10-L stainless steel incubators in clean rooms to maintain “sterile” conditions. The cells proliferate into large, suspended tissue masses while incubated in liquid-based nutrient medium at controlled pH and temperature that is monitored constantly by computerized technology. After adequate growth, transfers are made to 100-L and 1,000-L tanks. Three weeks later the cells are ready for viral inoculations and the proliferation and production of viruses.
- Cells are piped to a 2,500 L fermenter with fresh nutrients and flu viruses are added. The viruses attach to the cells, enter, replicate, kill the cells and seek any remaining viable kidney cells. A few days later, the viruses abound in the culture fluid.
- Column chromatography is used for the separation of culture cells from viruses,
- Ultrafiltration is used to concentrate the viruses to 100X (now 25 liters of the original 2,500 L).
- Viruses are inactivated chemically and only the surface H and N antigens are used.
Swine H1N1 Flu Cell Vaccine Production Final Steps
Typical flu vaccine always contains three of the predominant circulating viruses in the world population. Thus, three different vaccine batches must be combined to produce a single vaccine. Novartis reports that every 3 X 2,500 L batch generates 450,000 flu vaccine units for immunization. At the mixing and filling stage the process has taken a total of 16 weeks, 4 months to complete.
There is another caveat to all this. The influenza viruses are notorious for shifts and drifts in their genetics.
If a new strain should be produced by gene mutations or recombination, then any current vaccine could be only partially or minimally protective. This is just another reason why life is never simple or straightforward. Stay alert and be informed.
Read more about flu vaccines, flu therapy, and epidemiology and pandemics.
See also the CDC and Novartis flu web sites for vaccine information.
Consider a career in the various medical and health sciences. Opportunities abound for all.
Sources
Timbury, M.C. et al. 2002. Notes on Medical Microbiology. Churchill Livingstone, New York. 598 pp
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