BioNet to enter Hepatitis B vaccine production

Could become the only company in the world to produce both recombinant acellular pertussis and recombinant Hepatitis B vaccines BioNet-Asia Co., Ltd., the only privately-owned biotech company in Thailand focusing on the development, manufacturing and supply of vaccines, has acquired the technology for producing Hepatitis B vaccine with the ultimate goal to produce it locally. Mr. Vitoon Vonghangool, Managing Director of BioNet-Asia, confirmed that following the recent changes by the government to prioritize the local production of Hepatitis B Vaccine (HBV) over acellular pertussis vaccine (aP), the company decided to acquire HBV technology. “It is an important milestone for the company but also for our country, because Hepatitis B vaccine is included in the national immunization program. Several organizations have worked on this vaccine or have wished to produce it, but, so far, no local HBV has been made available. We have given the utmost priority to this project, and indeed a team is being trained in Europe right now. Meanwhile, we are evaluating various locations in Thailand to apply the technology with the objectives to produce the first development batches in the second semester of this year,” said Mr Vitoon. Despite being affected by the mega-floods at the end of last year, BioNet-Asia has decided to initiate several vaccine collaborations and projects. More scientists are being recruited to work on new R&D or technology projects, and international experts are also joining the company to lead the upcoming industrial projects. When asked about project financing, Dr Pham Hong Thai from BioNet-Asia replied, “Large investments are indeed required for vaccine production, and we have approached a few banks for long-term loans. However, the implementation of our 10-year strategic plan will certainly define the future of our company because any vaccine development is always a risky venture. That is why we also expect a stronger and consistent support from the government. For example, the development and production of our recombinant acellular pertussis vaccine is in the National Agenda, but the Ministry of Public Health has suddenly decided to support the import of this vaccine rather than its development and production locally. This direction has impacted our company’s manufacturing strategy more dramatically than last year‘s floods. We are now evaluating the import of bulk to be filled in Thailand too.” Mr Vitoon added, “Nevertheless, we are committed in our determination, and will contact the government and the concerned organizations to explain the importance of supporting local vaccine research and upstream production. In the past five years, several universities and institutes have collaborated on our vaccine R&D projects, and they are also encouraging initiatives to strengthen and enhance vaccine know-how in Thailand. In other countries, vaccine self-sufficiency is actually considered a national security. Our country cannot be left behind in researching, developing and delivering vaccines, especially when this current decade has been declared the ‘Decade of Vaccines (DOV)’ globally.” The company also announced that it received a provisional patent for the recombinant pertussis strain. Several companies in the US, Japan and other countries had expressed interest in that technology. Thus, BioNet-Asia could become the only company in the world producing both recombinant acellular pertussis vaccine and recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine. Dr Jean Petre, Scientific Director of BioNet-Asia, concluded on a positive note: “We are hopeful that the authorities will support the first-ever production of a recombinant Hepatitis B vaccine in Thailand. This would send a strong signal to the local biotechnology community and would definitely encourage our company to continue the development of our other projects such as Dengue vaccine and even to bring in more expertise, know-how and technologies locally.” For further information, please contact: BioNet-Asia Co., Ltd. 19 Soi Udomsuk 37, Sukhumvit 103 road, Bangjak, Prakanong, Bangkok 10260, Thailand Tel: 02 361 8110 E-mail: info@bionet-asia.com -KPA-

• ข่าวthe technology
• ข่าวHepatitis B
• ข่าวo:heal
• ข่าวo:eco
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