Formulation technologies for oral vaccines

Many options now exist for constructing oral vaccines, which, in experimental systems, have shown themselves to be able to generate highly effective immunity against infectious diseases. Their suitability for implementation in clinical practice, however, for prevention of outbreaks particularly in LMIC, is not always guaranteed, because of factors such as cost, logistics, and cultural and environmental conditions. This brief overview provides a summary of the various approaches which can be adopted, and evaluates them from a pharmaceutical point of view, taking into account potential regulatory issues, expense, manufacturing complexity etc., all of which can determine whether a vaccine approach will be successful in the late stages of development. Attention is also drawn to problems arising from inadequate diet, which impacts on success in stimulating effective immunity, and identifies use of lipid‐based carriers as a way to counteract the problem of nutritional deficiencies in vaccination campaigns.

© 2019 The Authors. Clinical & Experimental Immunology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Society for Immunology
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