Biologicals

WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization: Fifty-seventh report and Fifty-eighth report

Available now: TRS 962 and TRS 963

To download, please click on the url below:


Vaccine vials (IVB)

WHO Regulatory Standards for Vaccines and Biologicals

Established in 1947, the Expert Committee on Biological Standardization (ECBS) has overall responsibility for this area of work.

Standards developed through the ECBS relate to the production and quality control of safe and effective products. They provide guidance for national regulatory authorities and manufacturers and serve as the standard for acceptability of vaccines for supply to countries through international agencies (terms prequalification). Biological standards are also established by the Committee and provide the basis for the laboratory comparison of vaccines worldwide.

For more information, please go to:

Future Focus

For the foreseeable future, the emphasis for work in this area will be on the development of standards for new vaccines and novel vaccine combinations and of strategies to promote, facilitate and monitor the use of WHO standards.

As expectations for faster product development of vaccines grow, the ECBS will need to develop guidelines at an earlier stage of the production cycle.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

OUTCOMES OF THE EXPERT COMMITTEE ON BIOLOGICAL STANDARDIZATION, 18-22 october 2010

WHO HPV LabNet - Newsletter No. 8

UPCOMING EVENTS

Working Group on the Quality, Safety and Efficacy of Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine (live, attenuated) for human use, Bangkok, Thailand, 21-23 February 2012

WHO Informal Consultation on Recommendations to Assure the Quality, Safety and Efficacy of Poliovirus Vaccine, Oral (OPV), Geneva, Switzerland, 27-29 March 2012

CONTACTS

Quality, Safety and Standards (QSS)
Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals (IVB)
World Health Organization (WHO)
Avenue Appia 20
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Fax No. +41 22 7914971