title: Lessons learned during the development and transfer of technology related to a new Hib conjugate vaccine to emerging vaccine manufacturers.
abstract: The incidence of Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) disease in developed countries has decreased since the introduction of Hib conjugate vaccines in their National Immunization Programs (NIP). In countries where Hib vaccination is not applied routinely, due to limited availability and high cost of the vaccines, invasive Hib disease is still a cause of mortality. Through the development of a production process for a Hib conjugate vaccine and related quality control tests and the transfer of this technology to emerging vaccine manufacturers in developing countries, a substantial contribution was made to the availability and affordability of Hib conjugate vaccines in these countries. Technology transfer is considered to be one of the fastest ways to get access to the technology needed for the production of vaccines. The first Hib conjugate vaccine based on the transferred technology was licensed in 2007, since then more Hib vaccines based on this technology were licensed. This paper describes the successful development and transfer of Hib conjugate vaccine technology to vaccine manufacturers in India, China and Indonesia. By describing the lessons learned in this process, it is hoped that other technology transfer projects can benefit from the knowledge and experience gained.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Translational Vaccinology, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Electronic address: ahd.hamidi@intravacc.nl.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamidi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Translational Vaccinology, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boog
authors.affiliation: Serum Institute of India Limited, Pune, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jadhav
authors.affiliation: Institute for Translational Vaccinology, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kreeftenberg
mesh_terms: D016667:Bacterial Capsules; D002681:China; D003906:Developing Countries; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines / Q000191:economics*; D019741:Haemophilus influenzae type b; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007214:Indonesia; D008583:Meningitis, Haemophilus / Q000517:prevention & control; D018581:Technology Transfer; D013678:Technology, Pharmaceutical; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D018073:Haemophilus Vaccines; C044237:Haemophilus influenzae type b polysaccharide vaccine; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate
keywords: Haemophilus Influenzae type b; Lessons learned; Technology transfer developing countries vaccine manufacturers; Vaccine