Life

Production of local H1N1 vaccine gets underway

Two Adimmune Corp. workers conduct vaccine production procedures in this undated file photo.(Courtesy of Adimmune Corp.)

• Publication Date：08/04/2009
• Source： China Times

Adimmune Corp. will begin mass producing vaccines for the Influenza A (H1N1) virus beginning Aug. 4, said Ignatius Wei, chief executive officer of Adimmune, Aug. 3.

The company will be able to manufacture 250,000 doses of the vaccine per day, and should have finished production of the 5 million doses ordered by the Department of Health by the beginning of September, Wei continued.

The vaccine should be available to the general public sometime in November, after clinical trials are completed.

Adimmune’s new vaccine plant began operations only this June, and was almost immediately charged with the responsibility of preparing an H1N1 vaccine for the nation. In recent days, however, some have questioned whether the company and its new plant possess the scientific expertise and technology to accomplish such a mission.

Others have also called the safety of Adimmune’s vaccine into question, with some scholars saying that rather than receiving the vaccine, they would prefer to treat the flu with medication.

In response, Wei said that some media coverage is overly sensational and ungrounded. Not only does such reporting damage the reputation of Adimmune, it can lead to a general sense of panic among the public, which does not help in the containment of the disease.

Adimmune has had many years of experience in producing vaccines for different types of seasonal flu and also for Japanese encephalitis, Wei emphasized. The results of animal testing starting this July have also shown its vaccine to be safe and effective.

Numerous critical junctures have to be passed before the general public can be given the vaccine, the company stressed. These include passing 24 safety tests within the company, and meeting internationally recognized safety standards, as required by the Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis and Bureau of Pharmaceutical Affairs under the DOH.

Adimmune uses 250,000 eggs per day on average, which can now be used to produce at least 250,000 doses of the vaccine. Within six weeks of mass producing the vaccine, the company will have to pass its own safety tests, and to obtain safety certificates issued by the BFDA. It will not be allowed to perform human clinical trials until the end of September.

Twelve nations including Taiwan are currently capable of producing a vaccine for H1N1. Some Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries, unable to purchase vaccines from other nations, have approached Adimmune, Wei said, but Adimmune’s main concern is the welfare of Taiwan’s citizens.