Alan Yung-Chih Hu, Yu-Fen Tseng, Tsai-Chuan Weng, Chien-Chun Liao, Johnson Wu, Ai-Hsiang Chou, Hsin-Ju Chao, Anna Gu, Janice Chen, Su-Chen Lin, Chia-Hsin Hsiao, Suh-Chin Wu, Pele Chong

Highly pathogenic influenza viruses pose a constant threat which could lead to a global pandemic. Vaccination remains the principal measure to reduce morbidity and mortality from such pandemics. The availability and surging demand for pandemic vaccines needs to be addressed in the preparedness plans. This study presents an improved high-yield manufacturing process for the inactivated influenza H5N1 vaccines using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells grown in a serum-free (SF) medium microcarrier cell culture system.