Applications in Vaccinology and Immunotherapy

The baculovirus/insect cell system is experiencing tremendous growth in the field of vaccines. Its speed of implementation is undoubtedly one of its main advantages. This proves to be essential in the case of vaccines against various influenza and coronavirus strains. Traditional methods for producing influenza vaccines rely on amplifying the virus in chicken embryos. The resulting virus must then be inactivated before it can be used in vaccination. The main antigen in such vaccines is hemagglutinin (HA), which must therefore match that of the predominant circulating strain. The entire process of virus production, purification, and inactivation can be time-consuming, and in some cases, the resulting vaccines may cause severe allergic reactions to egg proteins.

The production of recombinant hemagglutinin in cultured insect cells combines the precision of genetic...