QUADRIVALENT COMBINATION VACCINE INCLUDING DIPHTHERIA
TOXOID, TETANUS TOXOID, WHOLE CELL PERTUSSIS AND
HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIGEN AND PREPARATION METHOD
THEREOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a quadrivalent combination vaccine
(hereinafter, DTwPH combination vaccine) including diphtheria toxoid, tetanus
toxoid, whole cell pertussis, and Hepatitis B surface antigen (hereinafter, HBsAg)
and a method for preparing the same.
Included in the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) by the World
Health Organization (WHO), DTP combination vaccines for simultaneous
vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis have been recommended as
essential vaccines for infants in almost all worldwide countries. Hepatitis B
infections, which are mostly common in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and
South America East South Asia, are known as a potential cause of hepatocarcinoma.
However, Hepatitis B infections also can be prevented through immunization so that
world-wide vaccination activities with Hepatitis B vaccine have been actively
conducted by WHO.
Recently, to eliminate the inconvenience of separate vaccinations with DTP
combination vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine that have different administration
schedules, and to supply these vaccines to underdeveloped countries at reduced costs
to increase their vaccination ratio, a combination vaccine product (DTaPH) including
diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, acellular pertussis and HBsAg has become
commercially available (European Patent Publication No. 0 642 355 Bl, July 15,
1998; Korean Patent Publication No. 1992-0009729, Green Cross Corp.).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In association with the preparation of a DTwPH combination vaccine, active
research has been conducted to solve problems encountered in pharmaceutical
preparation of the combination vaccine to prevent toxicity increase while keeping the
immunogenicity of HBsAg.
The problems occurring in the pharmaceutical preparation of the
combination vaccine include aggregation of individual vaccine solutions and vaccine
adhesion to glass storage bottle. Here, the term "aggregation" refers to the
formation of solid substance that is not suspended by gentle hand shaking, and the
term "adhesion" refers to the binding of DTwPH combination vaccine particles to the
wall of a storage glass bottle, which is strong enough not to be separated by gentle
shaking. The aggregation in the DTwPH combination vaccine occurs by electrostatic
attraction between individual vaccine adsorbed solutions and pertussis bacteria and,
especially between aluminum hydroxide gel used as an adsorbing agent and pertussis
bacteria. This adhesion occurs by long-time reaction between DTwPH combination
vaccine particles and glass wall. As the DTwPH combination vaccine is stored for a
long period of time, stability of the combination vaccine product seriously degrades
due to the aggregation and adhesion phenomena.
The DTwPH combination vaccine has a problem of increasing toxicity due
to the excess use of adsorbing agent and protein. Besides, since HBsAg has a low
incompatibility with other antigens, its immunogenicity therein is decreased
compared to simultaneous administration of two separate vaccines, DPT combination
vaccine and Hepatitis B vaccine (WHO headquarters, Informal consultation on
quardrivalent dipheria-tetanus-pertussis-hepatitis B vaccine, 1992).
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to prevent effectively the
said "aggregation" and adhesion" phenomena, and also to provide a new DTwPH
combination vaccine and a preparation method thereof which can maintain the
immnogenicity of HBsAg with the same geometric mean of antibody titre (ab GMT)
and the formation ratio of effective antibody titre as in a simultaneous administration
with separate trivalent DTP combination vaccine and single antigen Hepatitis B
vaccine.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a new quadrivalent DTwPH combination
vaccine, including diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, whole cell pertussis, and HBsAg,
in which diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid are adsorbed onto aluminum phosphate
(AlPO4) gels and HBsAg is adsorbed onto aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH) ) gel.
The present invention also provides a preparation method of DTwPH
combination vaccine, comprising (a) adjusting pH of diphtheria toxoid adsorbed
aluminum phosphate gel solution, tetanus toxoid adsorbed aluminum phosphate gel
solution, and HBsAg adsorbed aluminum hydroxide gel solution and a pertussis
stock solution in the range of 6.5-7.5 before preparation of the final DTwPH
combination vaccine composition; (b) mixing the pH-adjusted diphtheria toxoid and
tetanus toxoid adsored solutions; and (c) mixing the mixture obtained in step (b) with
the pH-adjusted HBsAg adsored solution and the inactivated pertussis stock solution.
The present invention also provides a combination vaccine storage method,
comprising adding gelatin to a common combination vaccine or the DTwPH
combination vaccine described above, or using a silicon-coated glass bottle as a
storage bottle for the combination vaccine. It is preferable that the concentration of
the gelatin is in the range of 0.1-0.7 w/v%.
Hereinafter, the structure and effect of the present invention will be described
in greater detail.
A diphtheria toxoid stock solution used in the present invention is prepared
by culturing Corynebacterium diphtheriae Park Willium strain. The resulting
culture supernatent is filtered, precipitated, and purified after detoxification with
formalin to obtain a suitable diphtheria toxoid stock solution. Suitable diphtheria
toxoid stock solutions can be obtained by using strains or methods other than
described above.
A tetanus toxoid stock solution is prepared by culturing Clostridium tetani
Harvard strain. The resulting culture solution is filtered, precipitated, and purified
after detoxification with formalin to obtain a suitable diphtheria toxoid stock solution.
Suitable diphtheria toxoid stock solutions can be obtained by using strains or
methods other than described above.
A pertussis stock solution is prepared by culturing Bordetella pertussis. The
resulting culture solution is centrifuged. The obtained pertussis pellet is suspended
in saline and inactivated by treatment to obtain a suitable inactivated pertussis stock
solution. Suitable pertussis stock solutions can be obtained by using strains or
methods other than described above.
HBsAg is extracted through homogenization from a recombinant yeast
culture. The HbsAg from recombinant yeast is subjected to a series of separation
methods including ion chromatography, ultrafiltration, dialysis, ultracentrifugation,
gel filtration chromatography, etc. to obtain a suitable HBsAg stock solution.
Suitable HBsAgs can be obtained by using methods other than described above and
HbsAgs from plasma can be also used.
Suitable adsorbing agents used in the present invention include aluminum
hydroxide and aluminum phosphate gels. Aluminum hydroxide and aluminum
phosphate gels can be purchased or prepared by known methods.
A silicon-coated bottle used for storage of combination vaccines in the
present invention is manufactured by soaking a glass bottle in a 1 :40 dilute solution
of 35% polymethylsiloxane (Dow Corning 365 silicon emulsion) and drying with
heat the glass bottle at 310° C for 10 minutes. Any silicon-coated glass bottles
manufactured by methods other than described above and commercially available
silicon-coated bottles can be used.
The DTwPH combination vaccine according to the present invention is
prepared by separately adsorbing diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, and HBsAg stock
solutions on to aluminum gels, and mixing the above solutions with a pertussis stock
solution, adjusting each single antigen vaccine concentrations to appropriate level.
The diphtheria toxoid stock and tetanus toxoid stock solutions are adsorbed onto
aluminum phosphate gels, and the HBsAg stock solution is adsorbed onto aluminum
hydroxide gel.
The single antigen vaccine concentrations in the DTwPH combination
vaccine according to the present invention are 20-50 Lf/mL for diphtheria toxoid, 4-
20 Lf/mL for tetanus toxoid, 10-24 OU/mL for pertussis, and 10-30 μg/rήL for
HBsAg. The concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel is in the range of 15-35
gAl/mL. Total aluminum gel concentration is in the range of 550-1000 /zgAl/mL.
The terms "the concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel" or "aluminum gel
concentration" mean the concentration of Al in aluminum gel.
FIG. 1 is a lOOX-magnified photograph showing the degree of aggregation of
pertussis bacteria with aluminum hydroxide gel with respect to the concentration of
aluminum hydroxide gel. When aluminum hydroxide gel and pertussis bacteria
are mixed, aggregation occurs by electrostatic attraction. To minimize the
aggregation between aluminum hydroxide gel and pertussis, the determination of the
concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel is considered to be a significant factor.
When the final concentration of pertussis bacteria is 24 OU/mL, no aggregation is
observed at the concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel of 35 βgAVmL, as shown
in FIG. 1(a). Aluminum hydroxide gel and pertussis bacteria start to aggregate at
the concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel no less than 35 gAl/mL, and the
degree of the aggregation becomes serious at the concentration of aluminum
hydroxide gel no less than 200 jUgAl/mL, as shown in FIG. 1(b).
Therefore, the concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel onto which HBsAg
is adsorbed is preferably in the range of 15-35 / gAl/mL based on the final
combination vaccine composition.
The diphtheria toxoid adsorbed solution has zero charge or negative charges
at neutral pH and positive charges at weak acidic pH. Meanwhile, pertussis bacteria
adsorbed solution have negative surface charges at neutral pH. Therefore, when the
pertussius stock solution and the diphtheria toxoid adsorbed solution are mixed after
pH adjustment in the range of 6.5-7.5 (measured by a pH meter, Zeta-Meter System
3.0, NJB PACIFIC INC., USA), aggregation in the mixed solution can be prevented
by electrostatic repulsive force.
When adjusting each pH of diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, and HBsAg
adsorbed solutions and the pertussis stock solution in the range of 6.5-7.5 and mixing
them together, the final DTwPH combination vaccine composition has a pH of 6.5-
7.5 so that aggregation between single antigen vaccines can be prevented.
The DTwPH combination vaccine according to the present invention prepared
by the method described above meets the requirement of biological preparation
standards (by Korea Food and Drug Administration, 1999) for the respective single
antigen vaccines with reduced toxicity. In addition, the immunogenicity of HBsAg
is stable in the DTwPH combination vaccine. Here, the stability of immunogenicity
means that the immunogenicity of HBsAg is maintained at or slightly increased from
an initial level without significant reduction after 3-month storage at 4° C.
Undesirable aggregation or adhesion of vaccines to the wall of a glass bottle
during storage can be prevented by addition of a high-viscosity material such as
gelatin in an amount of 0.1-0.7 w/v% to common combination vaccines or to the
DTwPH combination vaccine according to the present invention and by use of a
silicon-coated glass bottle for storage. As a result, common combination vaccines
or the DTwPH combination vaccine according to the present invention are kept in a
white stable suspension during storage. Here, the storage stability means that the
combination vaccine is kept in a white suspension without vaccine aggregation and
adhesion to storage bottle after 3-month storage in a cold chamber at a temperature
of2-8° C.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a lOOX-magnified photograph showing the degree of aggregation
of pertussis bacteria with aluminum hydroxide gel with respect to the concentration
of aluminum hydroxide gel.
FIG. 2 is a Western blot photograph showing the adsorption degree of
diphtheria toxoid adsorbed solution.
FIG. 3 is a lOOX-magnified photograph taken by an optical microscope and
showing the effect of use of silicon-coated glass bottle for storage on the degree of
aggregation in DTwPH combination vaccine.
EXAMPLES
The present invention will be described in greater detail by means of the
following examples. The following examples are for illustrative purposes and are
not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Example 1: Preparation of Diphtheria Toxoid Stock Solution
A diphtheria toxoid stock solution used in the present invention was prepared
by culturing Corynebacterium diphtheriae Park Willium strain. Formalin at a final
concentration of 6% was added to the resulting culture supernatent and left at 36° C
for 28 days for detoxification, followed by purification through ultrafiltration,
dialysis, precipitation with ammonium sulfate, gel filtration chromatography, and
then dialysis to obtain a diphtheria toxoid stock solution.
Example 2: Preparation of Tetanus Toxoid Stock Solution
A tetanus toxoid stock solution was prepared by culturing Clostridium tetani
Harvard strain. Formalin at a final concentration of 0.45% was added to the
resulting culture solution and left at 36° C for 28 days for detoxification, followed
by purification by microfiltration, ultrafiltration, dialysis, precipitation with
ammonium sulfate, gel filtration chromatography, and then dialysis to obtain a
tetanus toxoid stock solution.
Example 3: Preparation of Whole Cell Pertussis Stock Solution
A pertussis stock solution was prepared by culturing Bordetella pertussis.
The resulting culture solution was centrifuged. The obtained pertussis pellet was
suspended in saline and inactivated by treatment at 56° C for 30 minutes to obtain a
suitable pertussis stock solution.
Example 4: Preparation of HBsAg Stock Solution
HBsAg was prepared by culturing recombinant Hansenula polymorpha.
The resultant culture was subjected to homogenization for cell extraction and then
ion chromatography, ultrafiltration, dialysis, ultracentrifugation, and gel filtration
chromatography to obtain a suitable HBsAg stock solution.
Example 5: Preparation of Diphtheria Toxoid and Tetanus Toxoid Adsorbed
Solutions
Diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid stock solutions were adsorbed onto
aluminum phosphate gels (pH 5.5) by mixing with stirring and diluted with isotonic
saline if necessary. Final protein and toxoid concentrations in the adsorbed solution
can be appropriately adjusted. In this example, the concentration of diphtheria
toxoid solution was adjusted to be about 280 Lf/mL, and the concentration of tetanus
toxoid solution was adjusted to be about 50 Lf/ml. The respective adsorbed
solutions had a pH of 5.5-6.0. The adsorption of diphtheria toxoid onto aluminum
phosphate gel was observed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
and a Western Blot analysis. The result of the Western blot analysis is shown in
FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, Lane 1 is for a molecular weight marker, Lanes 2, 3, and 4 for
diphtheria solutions of 0.025 Lf/mL, 0.05 Lf/mL, and 0.10 Lf/mL, respectively, and
Lane 5 for supernatant of 0.4 Lf/mL from centrifugation of the diphtheria adsorbed
solution (equivalent to 100% desorption of diphtheria toxoid). The prepared
diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid adsorbed solutions were stored in a cold
chamber at a temperature of 2-8° C.
Example 6: Preparation of HBsAg Adsorbed Solution
To enhance immunogenicity, HBsAg was adsorbed onto aluminum hydroxide
gel. The HBsAg stock solution and aluminum hydroxide gel were mixed with
stirring to adsorb the HBsAg stock solution onto the gel and diluted with isotonic
saline if necessary. The concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel was adjusted to
be 60 jUgAl/mL, and the concentration of HBsAg stock solution was adjusted to be
72 jUg/mL. The adsorption of HBsAg onto aluminum hydroxide gel was observed
by HPLC and a Western Blot analysis. The prepared HBsAg adsorption solution
was stored in a cold chamber at a temperature of 2-8° C.
Example 7: Preparation of DTwPH Combination Vaccine
The adsorbed solutions prepared in Examples 5 and 6 and the pertussis stock
solution (192 OU/mL) were mixed to obtain the final DTwPH combination vaccine
composition. To prevent aggregation in the mixture of the pertussis stock solution
and the adsorbed solutions by electrostatic attraction, the respective solutions were
pH adjusted at 7.1 before mixing.
First, the diphtheria toxoid adsorbed solution was mixed with the tetanus
toxoid adsorbed solution, and the HBsAg adsorbed solution and an inactivated
pertussis stock solution were added to the mixture to prepare the DTwPH
combination vaccine composition. Next, aluminum phosphate gel was added to the
DTwPH combination vaccine composition to adjust total aluminum gel concentration
to a desired level. The concentration of the respective stock solutions can be
adjusted by addition of saline or phosphate buffer solution. Thimerosal was added
as an antiseptic in an amount of 0.05-0.1 mg/mL. 2-Phenoxyethanol can be added in
an amount of 3-6 mg/mL if necessary. The final DTwPH combination vaccine
composition had the composition shown in Table 1 at pH of 7.1.
Table 1
Experimental Example 1: Immunogenicity Test for HBsAg in DTwPH
Combination Vaccine
To determine the immunogenicity of HBsAg in the DTwPH combination
vaccine prepared in Example 7, four to five weak-old, thirty ICR mice were
immunized subcutaneously at the abdomen with the combination vaccine. After 4
weeks, blood was withdrawn, followed by determination of the geometric mean of
antibody titre (Ab GMT) and the percentage of mice having an effective antibody
titre for the immunogenicity test. Here, Ab GMT means the geometric mean of
mice antibody titres no less than 1 mlU/mL, and the percentage of mice having an
effective antibody titre means the percentage of mice having an antibody titre no less
than 10 mlU/mL in the all experimental mice.
As a control group for simultaneous administration, mice were immunized
subcutaneously at different sites with a 0.5-mL trivalent DTwP combination vaccine
having the same antigen composition as in Example 1 (40 Lf/mL diphtheria toxoid,
15 Lf/mL tetanus toxoid, and 24 OU/mL pertussis bacteria) and a 0.5-mL single
antigen Hepatitis B vaccine (24 /g/mL), followed by the immunigenicity test for
HBsAg by the same method described above.
As shown in Table 2, the DTwPH combination vaccine shows a stable
immunogenicity for HBsAg (in Ab GMT and mice percentage having effective
antibody titre) as in the simultaneous administration of separate vaccines.
Table 2
Experimental Example 2: Potency Test for DTwPH Combination Vaccine
Potency test for the DTwPH combination vaccine prepared in Example 7 of
respective diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, whole cell pertussis, and HBsAg was
performed according to the potency requirement of biological medicine by Korea
Food and Drug Administration (1999, 122-130 diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis
adsorbed combination vaccine; and 310-313 Hepatitis B vaccine).
The results were 2-4 units/mL of diphtheria toxoid, 4 units/mL or greater
against tetanus toxoid, and 10 IU/mL against whole cell pertussis. The potency
against HBsAg was equivalent to or greater than a reference (used as a standard in
Green Cross Corporation). Evidently, the DTwPH combination vaccine satisfies the
potency requirement of biological medicine.
Example 8: Use of Gelatin
To increase the viscosity of the DTwPH combination vaccine composition
prepared in Example 7, gelatin was added at a final concentration of 0.6 w/v%. As
a result, no vaccine aggregation and adhesion to glass wall was observed after 3-
months storage at 2-8° C.
Example 9: Use of Silicon-coated Glass Bottle
0.5 ml of the DTwPH combination vaccine composition prepared in
Example 7 was portioned into a silicon-coated glass bottle (3mL) and a non-coated
glass bottle and stored for 3 months or longer at 2-8° C. As a result, vaccine
adhesion to the wall of the silicon-coated glass bottle was not observed. After
shaking the two bottles vigorously, the phase stability of the vaccine composition
was observed using a microscope at 100X (Axioplan, Carl Zeiss Co., Germany).
For the DTwPH combination vaccine composition stored in the silicon-coated glass
bottle, the initial uniform dispersion was maintained during storage, as shown in FIG.
3(a). In contrast, aggregation of DTwPH combination vaccine particles was
observed in the non-silicon coated glass bottle, as shown in FIG. 3(b).
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
As described above, vaccine aggregation and adhesion to storage glass bottle
can be prevented by preparing the DTwPH combination vaccine composition after
adjusting the concentration of aluminum hydroxide gel and the pH of the respective
adsorbed solutions (diphtheria toxoid adsorbed solution, tetanus toxoid adsorbed
solution, and HBsAg adsorbed solution) and pertussis stock solution, or by adding
gelatin to the DTwPH combination vaccine composition, or by using a silicon-coated
glass bottle for storage.
The immunogenicity of HBsAg can be maintained in the DTwPH
combination vaccine and the potencies of the respective components can be satisfied
with the requirement of biological preparation standards (by Korea Food and Drug
Administration, 1999), by preparing the DTwPH combination vaccine after
adsorbing diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid onto aluminum phosphate gels and
HBsAg onto aluminum hydroxide gel, and adjusting the concentrations of each
component.
In addition, other single antigen vaccines such as Heamophilus influenzae
type b (Hib) vaccine or inactivated Polio vaccine can be added in the preparation of
the DTwPH combination vaccine or can be mixed with the same immediately before
injection for simultaneous immunization.