Cell culture of hepatitis A virus
AssigneeMerck & Co., Inc.
InventorsPaula A. Giesa, Philip J. Provost, Maurice R. Hilleman
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Abstract
Hepatitis A virus is attenuated in virulence by in vitro passage in susceptible cell cultures, without prior passage in a subhuman primate. This process results in a live, attenuated hepatitis A virus vaccine suitable for human disease prevention.
Claims2
A process for making a hepatitis A vaccine which comprises culturing an inoculum of HAV which has not been passaged through a non-human primate, wherein the culturing occurs in (i) primary, continuously cultivated, or transformed cells derived from kidney or liver tissue of non-human primate origin;
- and (ii) diploid lung fibroblast cells derived from human lung tissue.
A process for making a hepatitis A vaccine comprising:
- a) culturing hepatitis A virus which has not been passaged through a non-human primate and which has been passaged in primary or continuously cultivated or transformed cells derived from kidney or liver tissue of non-human primate origin, or diploid fibroblast cells derived from human or non-human primate lung tissue;
- b) harvesting the cultured HAV;
- and
- c) inactivating the harvested HAV to make a vaccine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.