Indian ‘ freeze- free’ vaccine carrier set for field trials

New Delhi, Feb. 9: This week, the first commercially available freeze- free vaccine carrier will begin introductory field trials in Nepal. This follows the World Health Organisation ( WHO) announcement that the Indian- made carrier using PATH’s “FreezeSafe” reference design passed WHO Performance, Quality, and Safety ( PQS) laboratory tests for User Independent Freeze Prevention, which prequalifies it for use in global immunisation programmes. This is the first low- cost carrier innovation available to address the widespread and longstanding problem of vaccines freezing in the cold chain during the “last mile” of outreach to infants and children.

Currently in low - and middle - income countries, health workers carry millions of temperature- sensitive vaccines next to ice packs inside vaccine carriers to reduce heat exposure, but this risks freezing the vaccines if ice packs are not conditioned ( carefully warmed to around 0° C).

Freezing can irreversibly compromise vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate protection from disease for people receiving vaccines. When health workers suspect temperature damage, the vaccine or medication is often discarded - at great cost to health care programmes.

PATH’s breakthrough solution mitigates the risk of vaccines being damaged by freezing or heat in carriers and eliminates the step of conditioning ice packs, reducing health worker burden. Frozen ice packs can be inserted immediately into the carrier thanks to a built- in barrier that shields the vaccines from reaching negative temperatures and excessive heat.

Many of the newer vaccines that protect children and infants from lifethreatening diseases and infections, such as for human papillomavirus, pneumonia, and rotavirus, are freeze sensitive and cost far more than other vaccines. In 2015, the United Nations Children’s Fund ( Unicef) procured approximately $ 1.7 billion worth of vaccines for immunization programmes, of which more than $ 1.2 billion were freeze sensitive. “Our priority is maintaining vaccine potency for the millions of people living in remote communities. In the future, vaccine carriers that prevent freezing will become the new standard for immunization programmes,” said Pat Lennon, who leads the cold chain team at PATH.

In order to rapidly accelerate introduction of this innovation, PATH put the Freeze- Safe reference design into the public domain for any manufacturer to use in their vaccine carrier products.

PATH staff in Seattle and New Delhi has provided technical advice to three product manufacturers who have adopted the technology.

India- based AOV International’s product AFVC46 is the first carrier to receive WHO- PQS approval and will be available for purchase through the Unicef Supply Division catalog. “The Freeze- Safe vaccine carrier is a great example of Indian industry helping solve a global public health challenge. This ‘ Made in India’ freeze- preventive vaccine carrier can help health workers in India and globally to administer lifesaving vaccines that do not freeze and could help save millions of lives,” said Neeraj Jain, country director of PATH’s India country programme.