Current cell-based influenza vaccine production technology as pandemic contingency

Abstract

Production technologies culminating in cell-based Influenza vaccines have been in development since the 1930s. It became a relevant technology for pandemic contingency after human infections by the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian Influenza viruses from 1997. Ten years from the first regulatory approvals in 2001, pandemic vaccines have been manufactured using this technology. However, the production capacity for cell-based Influenza vaccines is still inadequate to cater for a possible Influenza pandemic. One challenge for the expansion of cell-based Influenza vaccine production capacity is the uncertainty in the relevance of current cell-based Influenza vaccine production technology, because egg-based H5N1 vaccines are developed, and new Influenza vaccine technologies are in the pipeline. Nonetheless, cell-based Influenza vaccines are still relevant for the rapid production of new Influenza virus strains that can be challenging for egg-based production, and new vaccines based on current cell-based production technology will keep these relevant in the future. Another major challenge to expanding cell-based Influenza vaccine production capacity is the substantial investment required, coupled with possibly small returns because seasonal Influenza vaccines can be adequately supplied by existing egg-based facilities. This dilemma can be solved by motivating manufacturers of other cell-based therapeutics to set up on-demand production capabilities for cell-based pandemic Influenza vaccines in their existing facilities. This can reduce the investment and running costs, as well as decouple the production of pandemic vaccines from that of seasonal vaccines. With such approaches, current cell-based Influenza vaccine technologies can provide an economical solution to cater for the risk of an Influenza pandemic.