WHO Calls for Expressions of Interest in Developing Sabin-IPV

One of the strategic priorities of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to enable low-income countries to produce Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV). To meet this objective,  the World Health Organization is working with academia, government and industry to develop an IPV  based on the non-infectious Sabin virus strain (sIPV). A range of manufacturers and research institutes have active programmes at various stages of development. The development and licensure of IPV produced from Sabin strains aims to reduce the number of manufacturing sites generating high volumes of high titre wild polioviruses for ”traditional” IPV production. Sabin polioviruses pose less of a threat in the event of an intentional or unintentional release from the production facility. This is a particular concern in low-income countries where the transmissibility of polioviruses is high.