Crucell corporate brochure (PDF)

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Crucell’s commitment to the world – Taking responsibility
Quinvaxem® in Uniject: simply better
Crucell has embarked on a development project that will make
Quinvaxem® pentavalent vaccine available in Uniject, an innovative
vaccine injection system. The nonprofit organization PATH developed
Uniject over 20 years ago with the aim of simplifying vaccine delivery,
which the World Health Organization (WHO) sees as a key strategy
for helping developing countries to improve their national
immunization programs and reach populations in remote areas.
The Uniject device is essentially a small plastic bubble attached to a
fine, short needle and fitted with an auto-disable mechanism so that
it can be used only once. The bubble will be filled with a single dose of
Quinvaxem® at Crucell’s new manufacturing facility in Korea, where
a state-of-the-art filling and inspection line will be created for this
purpose. From there, the factory-filled devices will be shipped to the
growing number of countries that are choosing Crucell’s five-in-one
vaccine to protect their children against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis,
hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), a leading cause
of severe pneumonia and meningitis.
Because the Uniject device needs no assembly or preparation in
the field, it is ideal for countries with limited healthcare resources
and a poor infrastructure. It is much faster and easier to use than the
standard needle and syringe system, delivering the correct vaccine
dose with a simple squeeze of the bubble. Medical staff can therefore
administer more vaccines during an immunization session, with less
risk of error, and even non-traditional healthcare workers can safely
administer the vaccine after a short training. The auto-disable feature
is important for preventing the spread of HIV and other infectious
diseases. Uniject also reduces the vaccine wastage associated with
multi-dose vials. Finally, its light weight and compact size facilitate
transport to hard-to-reach areas. These benefits are proven, as Uniject
has already been used to deliver hepatitis B and tetanus vaccines to
over 73 million women and children in developing countries. Beckton-
Dickinson (BD), with whom Crucell collaborates on the Uniject
project, continues to further develop and improve the device.
www.crucell.com
Prototype Uniject device
Crucell’s commitment to the Uniject project reflects the breadth
of our efforts to bring innovation to global health. We know that
improving access to lifesaving vaccines depends on programmatic
innovations as well as new vaccines.
Crucell developed Quinvaxem®to meet the specific immunization
needs of the world’s poorest countries, where delivering the WHOrecommended
package of vaccines to all children under five is a
major challenge. When it was introduced in 2006, the only other
available pentavalent vaccine came in two vials and had to be
reconstituted in the field. The Quinvaxem® fully liquid formulation
simplified vaccine delivery because it is ready for use as soon as
the vial is opened. Putting Quinvaxem® into Uniject will make
delivery simpler again, further improving vaccine coverage and
cost-effectiveness. The introduction of one of the key EPI 1 vaccines
in BD Uniject also brings environmental advantages: no need for
separate transport of syringes and vials, ease of disposal and reduction
of toxic substance emissions during burning of waste. This development
is the next logical step in an ongoing process of innovation.
“PATH is thrilled that Crucell is making this significant commitment,”
Steve Brooke from PATH told key opinion leaders at the International
Pediatric Association (IPA) Congress in South Africa last August.
Crucell announced its Uniject plans at the conference and invited
feedback from potential users. This followed a meeting of the WHO
group focusing on new and underutilized vaccines implementation
(NUVI) in June, where stakeholders were surveyed on the benefits
and constraints for pentavalent vaccine in Uniject. The WHO
consultation at Technet, which explores technological innovations,
provided another opportunity for dialogue and debate in December.
Participation in such meetings helps us to understand and meet
local needs, for example regarding packaging.
1 EPI stands for Expanded Program on Immunization, the WHO strategy
for making vaccines available to all children worldwide.