Category: biotech Therapies

REQUIREMENTS OF AN IDEAL VACCINE FOR TODAY

October 3, 2008 by dadmin

Before discussing the way in which the immune system functions and how vaccines can work, it might be a useful exercise for the student to consider what an ideal vaccine should consist of. For example, most vaccines today are administered parenterally and this can sometimes be a painful or distressing experience, especially for young children. At the 1990 International Task Force for Vaccine Development meeting in New York, a children’s vaccine initiative (CVI) was set up with the aim of developing an ideal vaccine. The following criteria were established although the list may not be totally inclusive.

BCG The only tuberculosis Vaccine

October 3, 2008 by dadmin

The vaccine known as BCG, or Bacille Calmette-Guérin, is officially defined as a living culture of an attenuated form of Mycobacterium bovis, an organism similar to Mycobacterium tuberculosis which is the leading cause of tuberculosis in humans. The vaccine was developed at the turn of the 20th century as part of an attempt to halt the spread of tuberculosis in European industrial cities.

A brief history of Vaccine developement

October 3, 2008 by dadmin

Alternatives to Protein Biologics

October 3, 2008 by vikas

It should be noted that there may be alternative drugs to those biological materials produced by gene manipulation and expression. This will be especially relevant if the high cost of bioengineered compounds becomes unacceptable to society as a whole. The point is that proteins may have unique biological activities that can be mimicked in some cases by small molecular weight compounds, in other words, conventional drugs. At present there are few examples of this type of activity but research has already been initiated—and, who knows, this may have a successful outcome.