Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination

Abstract

NIH Potency Test for Rv-Fc and Rv-K Based Candidate Anti-Rabies Vaccine Produced at Komipharm International Co., Ltd. Korea

Abebe M Aga, Yongkwan Won, Birhanu Hurisa, Ju Hun Kim, Hailu Lemma, Su Jin Lee, Choong-soon Yun, Ho-kyoung Jung, Seong Cheol Moon and O soo Lee

Potency test for rabies vaccine is required to determine the vaccines potential to induce protective antibody response following vaccination. NIH potency test is the most widely used and internationally recommended potency assay for testing of inactivated rabies vaccines. Komipharm International Co., Ltd. Korea' has produced candidate anti-rabies vaccine from Rv-Fc strain expressing Fc region of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) originated from canine which enhance virus uptake by immune cells. This vaccine was tested for its potency according to NIH potency test protocol in the presence of Rv-K as a comparison, and 13.49 IU/ml and 3.16 IU/ml potency result obtained for Rv-Fc and Rv-K strain respectively. According to OIE recommendation for rabies vaccine, the potency should not be less than 1 IU/ml to be used for animal vaccination and both vaccines pass the requirement for animal vaccination. The modified rabies vaccine harboring canine Fc (Rv-Fc) has a high potency and can enhance antibody response after vaccination compared to PV strain based vaccine. Therefore, these vaccines can be used for animal vaccination at lower cost as it has more than recommended potency value.