Agreed in principle to establish cooperation to produce influenza vaccine

Deputy Prime Minister Prasert" met with the National Vaccine Committee and agreed on the principle of establishing cooperation in the production of influenza vaccines using cell culture technology at an industrial level for the security of public health of the country and the region and to support the production of 9-strain cervical cancer vaccines for comprehensive use in target groups in the country. Mr. Prasert Chantarawongthong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DE), chaired the 2nd National Vaccine Committee Meeting of 2024, along with Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of Public Health, with qualified committee members participating both in the meeting and online. Mr. Prasert said that the National Vaccine Committee meeting has 2 agendas to consider: creating cooperation in the production of influenza vaccines using cell culture technology at an industrial level for the public health security of the country and the region. The production of vaccines in the country is a pr eparation for the outbreak of new and re-emerging diseases in the future. Thailand needs to upgrade the production technology and seasonal influenza vaccines using cell culture technology, which takes less time to produce than the production using incubated chicken eggs, which is the original technology developed by the Government Pharmaceutical Organization. At the same time, accepting the transfer of new technology from abroad will result in better relations in promoting potential and cooperation in public health between countries. The meeting agreed in principle and supported the operation in terms of creating cooperation, both in the production process until the product is obtained and used in the target group of people, and in preparing the infrastructure. If additional budget is needed, Dr. Nakorn Premsri, Director of the National Vaccine Institute, as Secretary of the National Vaccine Committee, was assigned to submit to the Cabinet for approval. For the second agenda item, it is to support cooperatio n in transferring technology for the production of cervical cancer vaccine (Human Papilloma Virus: HPV) type 9 strains for the country's vaccine security. Due to the shortage of HPV vaccine in Thailand and around the world, Thailand has adjusted the form of cooperation, which is the transfer of technology for the production of 9 strains of HPV vaccine from INNOVAX Company by signing a memorandum of understanding between 3 parties: INNOVAX Company, National Vaccine Institute and Global Biotech Company Limited. While GPO-MBP Company started transferring technology in August 2024 and is expected to complete the technology transfer process and vaccine production, leading to vaccine registration with the Food and Drug Administration by 2027. The meeting agreed in principle to support the cooperation in transferring technology for the production of 9-strain HPV vaccines, and to support the operation from the beginning until the product is produced and to lead to its comprehensive and effective use in the target gr oups. Mr. Somsak, as Vice Chairman, added that today's meeting has 6 agendas in total, of which 4 issues are for information, including a summary of the country's vaccine operations, a summary of the pilot project to support the operations of local administrative organizations (LAOs) in vaccine procurement and a plan to expand to other LAOs for fiscal years 2022-2024, a summary of the operations of the Subcommittee on Immunity Promotion, and operations to control and prevent vaccine-preventable diseases. Source: Thai News Agency