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BTEC trains international work, regulators in vaccine manufacturing

Published August 5, 2013

This summer, BTEC is again offering courses on influenza vaccine manufacturing to almost 50 staff members of vaccine manufacturers from around the world. The training program, which is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), is part of an effort to increase the world's capacity to produce influenza vaccine. In the event of a widespread outbreak of influenza, increased manufacturing capacity would help meet the demand for the vaccine. This year’s participants come from biopharmaceutical manufacturing institutions in Brazil, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

In addition, the 2013 training program includes a special offering of its Fundamentals course for representatives of regulatory agencies from six different countries. Officials from Egypt, India, Indonesia, Serbia, South Africa and Vietnam are participating in this class, which is being supported by both BARDA and the World Health Organization.

This is the third year of the training program, which now includes three different courses. The Fundamentals course focuses on routine operations for production of influenza vaccine and the regulations that govern manufacturing. Two advanced courses teach students how to design new or optimize existing processes for vaccine production. Since the program began in 2011, 137 individuals have participated in the training.