Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine and JICA have provided technical assistance to Vietnam’s Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals (POLYVAC) to produce the measles vaccine from March 2006 to March 2010.
Under the co-operation, both organizations will build a cGMP compliant measles-rubella combined vaccine production system, using Daiichi Sankyo’s rubella vaccine production technology as well as existing measles vaccine production technology of POLYVAC.
Subsequently, POLYVAC has acquired technology for domestic production of measles vaccine.
Under the National Expanded Programme on Immunization, Vietnam is attempting to decrease the mortality rate for children up to 5 years and prevent them suffering from polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and tuberculosis ailments.
Contracted by pregnant women, rubella not only affects the health of infants, but also can cause congenital disorders in newborns, which forced the World Health Organization to ask each country to introduce rubella immunization program.
The country reported a high number of rubella cases, which forced it to boost measles-rubella combined vaccine production capacity to secure a stable supply of vaccines.