An Introductory Guide To The Vaccine Of Pneumococcal

The most common cause of blood infection, pneumonia, meningitis and ear infection has been a Streptococcus pneumonia bacterium. All of these diseases come under the category of pneumococcal disease. The disease is common during early spring as well as winter and spreads from person-to-person. Some cases of pneumococcal infection have culminated to extensive brain damage. Few invasive pneumococcal infections can also take the life of infants. 

Who should be given a pneumococcal vaccine?

Primarily, the pneumococcal vaccine is administered on three types of individuals –

•  Infants (under the age of 2)
• Old people (above the age of 65)
• Young adults and children having serious kidney or heart condition derived from pneumococcal disease itself

 How often PCV13 is given?

• The infants receive three separate injections – one at two months, followed by another at four months and the last one when during 12-13 months after the birth.
• Senior adults – over the age of 65 years – require a single vaccination, protecting them for life
• The adults and young children require one pneumococcal vaccination or a five-yearly vaccination, depending on the criticality of the health problem.

 Variants of pneumonia vaccine

  

There are two kinds of pneumococcal vaccine:-

• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV, Prevnar 13 or PCV13) – The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is administered on infants under the age of two. In some countries, the vaccine has become an integral part of the childhood vaccination program.  The development of pneumococcal conjugatevaccine India has risen to a new high with several leading vaccine laboratories contributing in its production.  
• Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) – This is another vaccine, which is administered on people of age 65 and above. Also, the vaccine is given to those people having a continuing health condition.

 Close to 90 types of pneumococcal bacterium have been identified; although, eight to ten of them cause fatal infection. The PCV13 gives protection against 13 strains; similarly, PPV gives protection against nearly 23 strains. With the progresses in medicine, the vaccine development laboratories will soon come up with holistic cures for some of the ills such as pneumonia.

Why a Vaccine for HIV Remains a Pipe Dream?

In 1990, the growth of many infectious diseases was checked. However, during the same time, a virus, still unchecked, had wiped out millions. Researchers were always left speechless when the question of a vaccine to this deadly virus popped up. The virus was known as HIV. Detected in 1984, Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) had nearly taken 30 million lives. The major concern for many researches is that HIV, as per now, cannot be prevented since no vaccine has been developed for it. The virus destroys the entire immune system by lowering the levels of CD4+ cells – the main constituent of a human body’s immune system. The reasons, which have stunted the growth prospects of an HIV’s vaccine are many; read on to know.

Reasons as to why there is still no vaccine for an HIV virus

In April 1984, researches declared that they would soon roll out a vaccine to the HIV virus within a span of just two years. The reasons to such heightened levels of optimism are still unknown. The factors held responsible for no development of an HIV vaccine are listed below.

Till date, there has been no recovery made from HIV virus. Unlike other infections such as chickenpox and measles - where a diseased person naturally made recovery with the help of medicines - in HIV no care or medicine can help in reversing the immunity’s deterioration. Moreover, whenever a person gets successfully recovered from a disease (say measles, chickenpox, etc.), the system gets immune to the ailment; such system becomes the model to develop a vaccine. However, no such human immune system is found that has withstood the attack of an HIV virus. 

One name that is consistently striving to bring the best of vaccines to the world is Hilleman Laboratories. The company was established in Delhi and has adopted high-class vaccine development strategies for contributing to healthcare research India. The presence of state-of-the-art vaccines laboratories in the company’s premises has helped it grow by leaps and bounds. The company is a joint venture between merck & wellcome trust for creating sustainable vaccine development. Any other details can be found at – www.hillemanlabs.org.

The Malaria Vaccine: Is it Still a Holy Grail?

For over millennia, Malaria has existed and destroyed several precious lives. With the path-breaking advances in medical science and technology, mankind has, on innumerable occasions, launched an attack to control this parasite. However, all those efforts were to no avail. Several clinical practices to test the candidate vaccine are still underway.

 What are the threats to the development of a malaria vaccine?

If figures are something to go by, mankind has an impressive gain by saving close to 1.1 million lives that almost succumbed to this fatal disease in a span ranging from 2001 to 2010. Such a feat was possible owing to the use of some advanced drugs and bed nets treated with insecticides. Nevertheless, the battle against Malaria has just escalated to a different level as a larger section of mankind is making no bones about showing resistance against the use of such powerful drugs and insecticides. 

What are the prospects of a developing a successful malaria vaccine?

A malaria vaccine is different from any other vaccine (such as that of polio, tetanus, etc.) due to the fact that it has to work with other interventions. First, due to the complexity of Plasmodium parasite’s genome, it has been a herculean task to derive a potent vaccine for averting the disease. Several renowned scientists are carrying out clinical trial (currently in phase three) for preventing the disease. But harboring the complexness of the parasite’s DNA, it is not wise to expect the probable vaccine to singlehandedly tackle the disease. As per the clinical trials taking place in 11 sites of Africa, the candidate vaccine (Mosquirix) is used with insecticide bed nets.

The complexity of vaccine development has always been critical for getting human race out of the clutches of some of the baneful diseases. Hence, only acclaimed name such as Hilleman Laboratories must be thought whenever a vaccine development task is at hand. Apart from vaccine development, the company prepares different types of immunization chart such as immunization schedule for kids. The company believes in the concept of global immunization and strives to achieve it; for any other detail go to – http://www.hillemanlabs.org/.

3 Things you must know about Vaccine Research and Development

Vaccine research and development, initiates the purpose of combating deadliest of diseases as per the standards and guidelines adhering to both developed and developing nations. The Vaccine research is based on regional epidemic of a nation.  The Development of the vaccine is initiated with sole purpose of producing an anti-dote for a particular disease. The Research and Development process of vaccine development includes three important factors:

• Identifying Vaccine Research Priorities

Since the research on vaccine has found adequate supports, the demand for independent evaluation has increased considerably. There, now, has to be stringent assessment of priorities, effort coordination for activities optimization and alignment. Hilleman Labs, a vaccine development company, has been helping developing countries fight deadliest of the diseases by offering affordable vaccinations. It has also identified relevant gaps and stimulated the implementation of technical agendas.

• Developing Research standards and guiding principles

Guidelines are necessary for new vaccine candidates, as their course of action is complex and they use multiple clinical demonstrations to target diseases. Certain standards have been defined by WHO such as Quality, Safety and Standards Unit, Harmonized Methods, and tools for comparing research results.

• Research and Product Development Capacity Growth

Many countries have shown interest in developing and producing quality vaccines. The developing nations can utilize the Research and Development capacity of World Health Organization, as its integral project development. The WHO offers clinical guidance support and practice for development of research centers and technology hubs.

The Science of Vaccination- an Insight from Hilleman Labs

Get to know the approach and vaccine research that Hilleman Labs, employs to provide better health care facilities to developing countries.

There is big gap between the healthcare facilities provided by the developing nations and developed nations. Vaccination programs help developing countries, defend deadliest of diseases. Hilleman Labs, a partner of Merck & Co. and Wellcome Trust, have channelized their vaccine research to help people fight and overcome fatal diseases in developing countries. Vaccine manufacturing needs research, ultra-modern techniques, and artisan. The artisans at Hilleman Labs focus on:

·         Diseases of importance to developing countries
·         Transformational technology for vaccine development and administration

The vaccines like rotavirus vaccines, human papilloma virus vaccines, TB vaccines, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, and Hepatitis A vaccines are developed for diseases responsible for highest mortality and morbidity rates in developing countries. The vaccines are developed and delivered based on disease targets and antigens, which are calculated on epidemiologic data and disease burden. The heat stability, usability, and affordability of the vaccine are improved either by using existing technology or inventing a new one.

The vaccine research model of Hilleman Labs encapsulates the following:

·         Due-Diligence
·         Identify Vaccine Antigen
·         Identify Vaccine Technology
·         Optimization
·         Preclinical Development
·         Clinical Phase I / II
·         Technology Transfer for Manufacturing



The Project selection process:

·         Public health interest (Possible reasons why this vaccine is needed)
·         Technical probability (What is the probability of vaccine’s success)
·         Financial feasibility (Cost and investment involved in vaccine manufacture and licensing)
·         Keeping in mid National Regulatory Authority (NRA) and WHO Guidelines
·         Consulting stakeholders and peer groups

“It is estimated that globally 0.6 million children under the age of 5 die annually due to rotavirus diarrhea and another 2 million are hospitalized. 90% of these deaths occur in developing countries.” –Courtesy: Hilleman Labs.

Public health systems that can ensure fairness in global health scenario will be a reality only through easy and affordable access to life-saving immunization programs. Well equipped with transformational vaccine research technologies, we will deliver new age preventive healthcare to the developing world in the near future.

Our expertise in vaccine research is channelized towards helping people in the developing world to fight the deadliest of diseases with vaccines that are within their reach. A first-of-its-kind initiative, Hilleman Laboratories is an equal joint-venture partnership formed between Merck & Co., a global research-driven pharmaceutical company and Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation dedicated to human and animal health. Headquartered in India, Hilleman Laboratories is an international organization strengthened by the presence of global leadership and scientific team, which is working incessantly to develop safe, effective, affordable and sustainable vaccines for developing countries

Thermo stable Rotavirus vaccine is one of the current projects that Hilleman Labs, has been working on. The research on rotavirus vaccine, examine formulations to improve stability, usability, portability and affordability of thin strips or granules.  Making vaccination a medium to combat deadly diseases helps save lives.

Hilleman Laboratories is a vaccine manufacture  and committed to developing high impact, TB vaccines, Hepatitis A vaccines, affordable vaccines for people in developing countries in an innovative and sustainable manner.