title: Recombinant versus plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccines: issues of safety, immunogenicity and cost-effectiveness.
abstract: Any attempt to reduce the incidence of hepatitis B on a worldwide scale requires the availability of large quantities of potent, safe and affordable hepatitis B vaccine. However, ongoing doubts or concerns--justified or not--persist about the comparative safety, immunogenicity and cost-effectiveness of commercially available hepatitis B vaccines, whether derived from plasma or produced via recombinant expression systems. This review compares plasma versus recombinant hepatitis B vaccines in terms of these alleged differences and in the light of increasing clinical data acquired following administration of recombinant yeast-derived hepatitis B vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Vaccines Research & Development, Smith Kline Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stephenne
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000517:prevention & control; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics; D014612:Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000592:standards; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology / Q000592:standards; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D017325:Hepatitis B Vaccines; D014612:Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines