Hilleman Laboratories

Hilleman Laboratories is a Delhi-based vaccine research organization involved into the development of vaccines. The firm is the result of an equal joint-venture between US drug maker Merck & Co Inc. and Wellcome Trust, British Charitable Foundation. The research firm is named in the honour of Dr. Maurice Ralph Hilleman (1919–2005), the father of modern vaccine science.^[1]

The firm is in talks with leading vaccine markers for the development of heat stable rotavirus vaccine and novel vaccine for cholera, a leading diarrheal disease cause in impoverished settings.^[2] Dr. Davinder Gill is the Chief Executive Officer of MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories Pvt Ltd.^[3]

History

Hilleman Laboratories was formed in 2009 when Wellcome Trust and MSD entered into a research and development joint venture with a not-for-profit mission to develop affordable vaccines for people in developing countries.^[4][5]

Vaccine Research

Hilleman Laboratories conducts various vaccine research and science programs to develop cost-effective vaccines especially for developing countries. The vaccine research & development firm creates safe, low-cost vaccines that are highly effective and can be easily incorporated into child immunization programs.^[6]

There are five points to which vaccine research program revolves around:

• Thermostability
• Ease-of-use
• Package size
• Reduced cost of goods

Vaccine Programs

Hilleman Laboratories is involved into the development of both new vaccines for area of unmet needs, and optimizing exiting vaccines. The firm establishes a portfolio of research projects based on disease priorities and technology opportunities that make a difference to vaccine development and programs in developing countries.^[7]

Current Projects

Heat Stable Rotavirus Vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories has recently announced a significant advancement in improving access to the life-saving rotavirus vaccine to children. The vaccine candidate will have optimized bulk antigen production processes combined with simple yet robust formulation and a scalable fill/finish to ensure a competitively priced vaccine which will improve access in the developing countries like India.^[8]

The rotavirus vaccines currently available depend on cold chain storage and result in higher distribution costs and improper supply to those in need. Hilleman Laboratories initiative in developing thermostable rotavirus vaccine will allow for greater temperature consistency and less dependency on exact storage timing and refrigeration. This will determine the feasibility of applying latest delivery technologies to an existing oral rotavirus vaccine to make it thermostable for further opportunities.

Optimized Cholera Vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories in collaboration with Gotovax AB (a University of Gothenburg spin-off biopharmaceutical company) targets to create highly effective Oral Cholera vaccine at a considerably more affordable price than existing ones available in the market. Easy to use, with cross protection against ETEC diarrhea and optimized with a longer shelf life, this vaccine candidate will be most favorable for geographies with the highest cholera burden like Africa and South Asia.^[9]

Low-cost Men A C Y W X Conjugate Vaccine

Hilleman Laboratories has initiated a two-pronged strategy to develop low-cost combination vaccine for treatment of invasive meningococcal disease. It uses a newer method that makes the use of synthetic organic chemistry to create short oligosaccharides. These oligosaccharides mimic the carbohydrate epitopes present in longer repeat units found in bacterial capsular polysaccharides. In addition, chemical linkers can be directly designed into the synthetic carbohydrates. This latest method has the potential to significantly reduce costs and create new IP, allowing developing country manufacturers undertake more conjugate vaccine development projects.

References