Three solutions setting the pace of Immunisation - Thermostability, Affordability and Availability

By: Hilleman Laboratories on May 22, 2017

The vaccine landscape is shifting, and new opportunities, challenges, and debates have pushed vaccines to the center of global health discussions. Thanks to vaccines and systematic immunization, the polio disease saw its final death knell. It is estimated that vaccines avert about 2-3 million deaths each year in all age groups and protect 83% (107 million) of infants worldwide from vaccine preventable diseases .

Immunity is gained without the consequence of being ill and without the risk of potential life-threatening complications from the disease. However, access to vaccines has been a critical issue in ensuring the health of children, especially in the developing countries. Access is currently limited due to limited money available for vaccine procurement, high prices of new vaccines for existing and emerging diseases and poor health delivery infrastructure in developing countries . Not just access, thermostability has been another cause for concern in case of vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that annually 10-50 percent of vaccines may be wasted globally because of temperature control, logistics and shipment-related issues. In low-resource settings, factors like tropical temperature, scarce resources, unreliable power, and long distances between healthcare facilities pose risks.

Innovation is the key to success!

As already discussed, a lot of factors contribute to vaccines not completely catering to those in need of it. The temperature sensitive nature of these vaccines leads to a loss in production as well as the supply chain. However, the last decade saw significant advances in developing, introducing and expanding the reach of vaccines globally. One of such measures was the ‘vaccine cold chain’ wherein vaccines are stored at refrigerated temperatures throughout the transport, storage, and handling of vaccines. The cold chain implies that the vaccine, from the time it is produced till the time it is consumed, stays in refrigerated conditions. Besides that, some companies are even researching methods to enhance the thermostability of vaccines. They have invented measures to maintain all the attributes of a vaccine even in unfavorable temperature conditions. Thermostable vaccines also help to decrease logistics cost by eliminating cold chain, which, in turn, allows for more economical pricing. As a result of this, vaccines can also be made available in remote and far-flung areas where temperatures are not naturally favorable.

Hence, it is fair to say that Thermostability, Affordability, and Availability go hand-in-hand and they hold the key to the success of immunization. The heart and soul of this field is innovation. Innovation is required to improve vaccine production as well as optimizing the supply chain. The recent wave of changes has created a tremendous opportunity for innovative technologies in this space, as companies that can help discover and deliver new vaccines could create enormous value.