Who are the key players in vaccine development?

[Jin S Zhang]

Who develops vaccine?

 

[farful]

Scientists.

 

[Moonbear]

Which vaccine?

 

[Jin S Zhang]

Scientists.

Of course I know. WHat I want to know is that what kind of medical scientists develop vaccine. Microbiologists or Biochemists or Pharmacologists ?

 

[Jin S Zhang]

Which vaccine?

Any kind of vaccine.

 

[iansmith]

I tends to be microbiologist and immunologist that lay the first stones for vaccine developments. They are later helped by MDs and people working in pharmaceutical companies.

 

[ViewsofMars]

Who develops vaccine?

I wish to add a little more in-depth knowledge to this discussion.

The World Health Organization has information on "Development of new vaccines". Here are two snippets from this website located on http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs289/en/

Vaccine development proceeds through discovery, process engineering, toxicology and animal studies to human Phase I, II, and III trials. The process can take more than 10 years, depending on the disease. The human trials focus initially on safety, involving small groups of people (I); then progress to moderate-sized "target" populations (persons close to the age and other characteristics for whom the vaccine is intended) to determine both safety and the stimulation of immune response (II); and finally to large target populations to establish whether a vaccine actually prevents a disease as intended (efficacy) (III).
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs289/en/

and

WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research (IVR)
The WHO Initiative for Vaccine Research was established in 2001 to streamline the various vaccine research and development projects being carried out by different departments of WHO (including the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases: TDR) and UNAIDS. IVR is an international team of scientists, managers, and technical experts whose task is to facilitate the development of vaccines against infectious diseases of major public health importance, to improve existing immunization technologies, and to ensure that these advances are made available to the people who need them the most. IVR will achieve these objectives using a three-pronged approach:

1. management of knowledge and provision of guidance and advocacy through effective partnerships to accelerate innovation for new and improved vaccines and technologies;

2. support to research and product development for WHO priority new vaccines and technologies; and

3. conduct of appropriate implementation research and development of tools to support evidence-based recommendations, policies and strategies for optimal use of vaccines and technologies.

:)