Despite the existence of effective vaccines against Hepatitis B virus, the infection with it remains an important problem worldwide due to its association with hepatocellular carcinoma. Several procedures have been used to purify the Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for immunization purposes. Immuno-purification using HBsAg-specific murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) has been one of the most successful strategies for such a purpose due to the high antigen selectivity (high affinity) of MAbs…
Tag: <span>vaccines</span>
The biologics market, although difficult to estimate, is currently thought to be in excess of $20 billion. In recent years, the growth in the novel therapeutics market has continued to exceed all but the most optimistic of expectations. The number of products in early stage trials may already be over 1,000, with an estimated 40 or so additional products in the process of finally being released to the market. The biologics market is led by relatively few “blockbuster” drugs, but the breadth of novel products continues to expand. This has resulted in exciting times for clinicians but has resulted in concern related to the bottleneck of production capacities for these drugs, as well as the pressure from healthcare agencies to reduce the cost of goods…
As human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) continues to spread around the world, scientists are actively pursuing effective vaccines against the infectious disease that results in AIDS. A number of vaccine designs have been developed, including plasmid DNA constructs encoding HIV proteins. One advantage of DNA vaccination is that after the uptake of the plasmid by the host cells, the encoded antigens are expressed in the native conformation and allow authentic immunological processing of the antigen. Another advantage of DNA vaccines is that they can be repeatedly administered without vector-directed immunity limiting the efficacy of the boost. DNA vaccines alone can induce both humoral and cellular immune responses and provide modest protection against disease progression in the preclinical, nonhuman primate model when challenged with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)…
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a not-for-profit nongovernmental organization founded in 1820 that develops public standards for drug substances and products; these standards are enforceable by FDA and have been adopted by many nations around the world. USP General Chapters provide industrial and academic researchers alike with crucial guidance, particularly in areas where there is a regulatory void. A good recent example is the proposed USP general information chapter…
The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established to facilitate research in vaccine development. The VRC is dedicated to improving global human health through the rigorous pursuit of effective vaccines for human diseases. It was established by former president Bill Clinton as part of an initiative to help develop an AIDS vaccine and is part of the NIAID organization. Since the inception of the VRC, its mission has expanded to include the development of vaccines against bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases…