PATH welcomes WHO's prequalification of a new bivalent oral polio vaccine from China
Another affordable vaccine against polio will help close the supply gap and improve accessibility for low-income countries
Media inquiries: Kate Davidson | (206) 302-4637 | media@path.org
PATH welcomes the World Health Organization's (WHO) prequalification of a new bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) developed by Chinese vaccine manufacturer Beijing Bio-Institute Biological Products (BBIBP). The vaccine will help meet heightened demand for bOPV during this current critical phase of polio eradication in polio-endemic countries and other countries at high risk for resurgence.
PATH provided technical assistance to BBIBP in the key early stages of the WHO prequalification application process, including document preparation for the Product Summary File. PATH also designed and conducted a Phase 3 clinical trial in Kenya to demonstrate the vaccine's performance in a setting outside of China and where it is likely to be used most.
In April 2016, following the eradication certification of type 2 polio, countries using trivalent OPV implemented a global switch to bOPV, which protects against polio types 1 and 3. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative recommends bOPV use in polio-endemic and other high-risk countries because it prevents disease transmission (unlike inactivated polio vaccine, which only protects the person vaccinated) and it is easier and more cost-effective to deliver.
High-risk countries will require billions of doses of bOPV every year for routine immunization and vaccination campaigns to develop population immunity, to stamp out pockets of endemic, wild-poliovirus transmission, and to control outbreaks. The addition of another affordable bOPV product will improve access among the populations who need it most now and for years to come.
About Beijing Bio-Institute Biological Products
BBIBP is one of the biggest Chinese biological and pharmaceutical industry bases with a hundred years history, and also an important part of Chinese disease prevention and control system, who has always undertaken an arduous task for serious infectious diseases prevention and treatment. Adhering to the corporate credo of 'Caring for life, attending to health', our duty is to protect people's health. We are the earliest development and production company for polio vaccine in China. By continuous innovation, we are the first to successfully develop bOPV, IPV and other vaccines in China, meeting the demand for children's health in China and some regions of the world with our efforts.
Posted December 27, 2017.