Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed
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| Vaccine description | |
|---|---|
| Target disease | Anthrax |
| Type | Subunit |
| Clinical data | |
| Trade names | BioThrax |
| MedlinePlus | a607013 |
| Pregnancy category |
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| Routes of administration |
SQ, IM |
| ATC code | |
| Legal status | |
| Legal status |
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| Identifiers | |
| ChemSpider |
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Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) — also called MDPH-PA or MDPH-AVA; trade name BioThrax — is the only FDA-licensed human anthrax vaccine in the United States. It is produced by Emergent BioDefense Corporation, formerly known as BioPort Corporation in Lansing, Michigan. The parent company of Emergent BioDefense is Emergent BioSolutions of Rockville, Maryland.
AVA originated in studies done in the 1950s and was first licensed for use in humans in 1970. In the U.S., the principal purchasers of the vaccine are the Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services. Ten million courses (60 million doses) of the vaccine have been purchased for the U.S. in anticipation of the need for mass vaccinations owing to a future bio-terrorist anthrax attack. The product has attracted some controversy owing to alleged adverse events and questions as to whether it is effective against the inhalational form of anthrax.
AVA is classified as a subunit vaccine that is cell-free and containing no whole or live anthrax bacteria. The antigen (immunologically active) portions are produced from culture filtrates of a toxigenic, but avirulent, nonencapsulated mutant — known as V770-NP1-R — of the B. anthracis Vollum strain. (The Vollum strain was the same one weaponized by the old U.S. biological warfare program.) As with the Sterne (veterinary) anthrax vaccine strain and the similar British anthrax vaccine (known as AVP), AVA lacks the capsule plasmid pXO2 (required for full virulence) and is composed chiefly of the anthrax protective antigen (PA) with small amounts of edema factor (EF) and lethal factor (LF) that may vary from lot to lot. Other uncharacterized bacterial byproducts are also present. Whether or not the EF and LF contribute to the vaccine's efficacy is not known. AVA has smaller amounts of EF and LF than AVP.
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