Vietnam successfully produces measles and rubella vaccine

November 08, 2016 | 17:25

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The Ministry of Health of Vietnam has approved the clinical trial results of the combined measles and rubella (MR) vaccine produced by the Centre for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (POLYVAC).

It is the first MR vaccine successfully produced in Vietnam through technology transfer under the project on “Strengthening Capacity for Measles-Rubella Combined Vaccine Production” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

POLYVAC has been running the project since May 2013, with the total budget of approximately JPY700 million.

In March 2016, with technical support from Japanese experts and immeasurable effort from the POLYVAC staff, the MR vaccine was first submitted for clinical trial testing and was assessed to be safe and effective for human use.

Since the project’s commencement until October 2016, the Japanese technology transfer counterpart, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine Company Limited, has dispatched 197 experts to Vietnam in order to assist POLYVAC and received 36 POLYVAC employees to train at its factory in Japan.

In the coming time, POLYVAC will be completing the required procedures to apply for a marketing licence so that the MR vaccine can be used at Vietnam’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation, which gives free vaccination to Vietnamese children, tentatively starting in 2017.

The year of 2015 was memorable to the Vietnamese vaccine industry as the National Regulatory Authority of Vaccines was officially certified by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 2016, Vietnam carved itself a spot on the world map of vaccine production by self-manufacturing high quality MR vaccine applying Japanese technology. Vietnam is proud to be one of the twenty-five vaccine producing countries in the world and the forth Asian country to manufacture the MR vaccine, following Japan, India, and China.

By By Bich Ngoc

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