New Influenza Vaccine Manufacturing Facility in India to Use VLP Technology

CPL Biologicals Pvt. Ltd. has begun construction of a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in India that will be used to produce pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines. CPL Biologicals, Novavax, Inc.'s joint venture with Cadila Pharmaceuticals, will use Novavax's virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine technology to produce commercial-scale quantities of VLP-based influenza vaccines using disposable manufacturing technologies. The CPL Biologicals facility is expected to be operational within four months and should be capable of producing more than 60 million doses annually at full capacity. This facility will also be used to produce other novel vaccines being developed by CPL Biologicals, using Novavax's VLP vaccine technology.

"We anticipate creating sufficient capacity for CPL Biologicals to sell influenza vaccines in India and at the same time become a potential supplier to Novavax for sale of vaccines in other markets," commented John Trizzino, senior vice president, international and government alliances for Novavax and interim chief executive officer of CPL Biologicals. "We believe this model will show how an efficient and scalable vaccine platform can help address the growing demand for pandemic and seasonal influenza vaccines."

VLPs mimic the external structure of viruses but lack the live genetic material that causes viral replication and infection. VLPs can be quickly designed to match individual viral strains and be produced efficiently using portable cell-culture technology. VLP-based vaccine candidates are produced more rapidly than egg-based vaccines by using proprietary, portable, recombinant cell-culture technology.

BioPharm's previous coverage of Novavax and VLP technology:

Advancing Vaccine Technology to Combat Global Pandemic Threats

Novavax Achieves Good Results for Vaccines Against Seasonal Flu and H1N1

Novavax Licenses VLP Vaccine Technology to Spanish Company ROVI