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Jenner was an English physician who helped pioneer the smallpox vaccine based on his hypothesis that the pus in blisters milkmaids received from cowpox protected them from smallpox. To test out his theory in 1796 he inoculated the 8 year old son of his gardener with pus taken from the cowpox blisters of a local milkmaid. While the boy suffered a fever he showed no sign of infection with smallpox. Jenner then injected the child with smallpox material, a common method of immunisation at the time, known as variolation. Again he showed no sign of infection. Following this, Jenner tested the same technique in 23 further people. Based on his success, in 1840 the British government outlawed variolation and provided Jenner's method for free to prevent smallpox. Jenner's work laid the foundation for immunisation as a method for preventing disease and for contemporary discoveries in immunology. 1749-05-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 May 1749 | | Edward Jenner was born in Berkeley, UKJenner | |
Edward Jenner, English physician, inoculated a child with material taken from cowpox pustles to protect him from smallpox. 1797-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1797 | | First smallpox vaccination Jenner | |
Jenner was an English physician who helped pioneer the smallpox vaccine based on his hypothesis that the pus in blisters milkmaids received from cowpox protected them from smallpox. To test out his theory in 1796 he inoculated the 8 year old son of his gardener with pus taken from the cowpox blisters of a local milkmaid. While the boy suffered a fever he showed now sign of infection with smallpox. Jenner then injected the child with smallpox material, a common method of immunisation at the time, known as variolation. Again he showed no sign of infection. Jenner then tested out the same technique in 23 further people. Based on his success, in 1840 the British government decided to outlaw variolation and instead provide Jenner's method for free to prevent smallpox. Jenner's work laid the foundation for immunisation as a method for preventing disease and for contemporary discoveries in immunology. 1823-01-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Jan 1823 | | Edward Jenner diedJenner | |
Wright was a bacteriologist and immunologist who pioneered the development of a vaccine against typhoid in the 1890s. Initially the British military authorities were reluctant to roll out the vaccine, but limited trials during the Boer War proved its value. Further trials conducted among 3,000 soldiers in India confirmed its efficacy and the War Office used it to vaccinate British troops at the outset of World War I. Wright also developed vaccines against enteric tuberculosis and pneumonia. He also instrumental in research to understand how blood enzymes make bacteria more susceptible to phagocytosis by white blood cells. 1861-08-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Aug 1861 | | Almroth E Wright was born in Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire, UKWright | St Mary's Hospital |
Calmette was a physician and bacteriologist who is credited with the discovery that the virulence of bovine tubercle bacilli is weakened when cultured on bile-containing medium. Discovered in 1908, this laid paved the way to the development of the tuberculosis vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The vaccine was first used in newborn infants in Paris in 1921. Calmette also developed a diagnostic test for tuberculosis, known as Calmette's reaction. 1863-07-12T00:00:00+0000| 12 Jul 1863 | | Albert Calmette was born in Nice, FranceCalmette | Pasteur Institute |
Nicolle was a French bacteriologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903 for identifying lice as the transmission vector for epidemic typhus and by working out how tick fever is transmitted. He also to helped discover the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, a common infection that is usually harmless but can cause serious problems in some people. Nicolle also developed a vaccine for Malta fever, a disease now called brucellosis.
1866-09-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Sep 1866 | | Charles J H Nicolle was born in Rouen, FranceNicolle | |
A physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war. 1878-11-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Nov 1878 | | Hans Zinsser was born in New York City, USAZinsser | Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University |
Louis Pasteur develops an attenuated chicken cholera vaccine1879-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1879 | | Chicken cholera vaccine developedPasteur | Pasteur Institute |
Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a nine year old boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog.1885-07-06T00:00:00+0000| 1885 | | First rabies vaccine testedPasteur | Pasteur Institute |
Goodpasture was a research scientist who developed the first method for culturing uncontaminated viruses in chicken embryos and fertilised chicken eggs. Before this viruses were grown in living tissues which could be contaminated by bacteria. Goodpasture's method laid the foundation for the mass production of vaccines for diseases like smallpox, yellow fever, typhus and chicken pox. He was also a key pioneer in the development of the mumps vaccine. 1886-10-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Oct 1886 | | Ernest Goodpasture was born Clarksville, TN, USAGoodpasture | Harvard University |
Rivers was a bacteriologist and virologist whose development of a tissue culture for the vaccinia virus, in 1931, paved the way to the development of a vaccine against yellow-fever. He also made important contributions to understanding the viral causes of influenza and chickenpox. Rivers served as the director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1937-56) and chaired the virus research committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) (1938-1955) which oversaw the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines against polio. 1888-09-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Sep 1888 | | Thomas M Rivers was born in Jonesboro, Georgia, USARivers | Rockefeller Institute |
Enders shared the 1954 Nobel Prize for helping to develop a technique to grow the poliomyeltitis virus in various types of tissue culture. This he achieved with colleagues Thomas Weller and Fredric Robbins in 1949. Their technique paved the way for Jonas Salk's development of a vaccine against polio. Enders is also renowned for having helped pioneer the first measles vaccine.
1897-02-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Feb 1897 | | John F Enders was born West Hartford, CT, USAEnders | Children's Hospital Boston |
Wyckoff was a major pioneer of x-ray crystallography of bacteria. He helped develop a high-speed centrifuge for segregating microscopic and submicroscopic material to determine the sizes and molecular weights of small particles. In addition he purified the virus that causes equine encephalomyelitis which laid the foundation for the development of a vaccine to combat an epidemic of the disease in horses. His work in this field enabled him to create a vaccine against epidemic typhus for use in World War II. 1897-08-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Aug 1897 | | Ralph W G Wyckoff was born in Geneva, NY, USAWyckoff | Rockefeller University, University of Michigan, University of Arizona |
The vaccine was developed by William Coley, a New York surgeon, together with the pharmaceutical company Parke, Davis & Co. The vaccine contained a combination of heat-killed bacteria. 1899-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1899 | | First commercial vaccine developed for treatment of sarcomaColey | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Parke Davis & Co |
Theiler was a physician who specialised in infectious diseases. He is best known for helping to show that yellow fever is caused by a virus and his development of a safe and effective vaccine against the disease. This work he did in the 1930s while based at the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. His first vaccine was used by the French government to protect the residents of French territories in Western Africa. A second one, an improved version, was launched in Brazil in 1938. Over 400 million doses of this vaccine was given out to people over the next 60 years. Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1951 for his yellow fever vaccine. 1899-01-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jan 1899 | | Max Theiler was born in Pretoria, South AfricaTheiler | Pretoria, South Africa |
Francis was a microbiologist and epidemiologist. He is credited with the discovery and isolation of the two strains of virus that cause influenza. Francis discovered the first one (A) in 1934 and the other (B) in 1940. He went on to develop an effective polyvalent vaccine against both strains. Francis was also involved in research that paved the way to the development of antiserums for the treatment of pneumonia. He was also the director of the large-scale clinical trials conducted in 1954 that led to the widespread adoption of the Salk vaccine against poliomyelitis.1900-07-15T00:00:00+0000| 15 Jul 1900 | | Thomas Francis Jr was born in Gas City, Indianna, USAFrancis | University of Michigan |
Stanley was a biochemist and virologist. In 1935 he managed to crystalise the tobacco virus, the causative agent of plant disease. This was a major breakthrough because prior to this no scientists had succeeded in finding out what viruses were. His work laid the foundation for other scientists, using x-ray diffraction, to work out the precise molecular structures and reproduction process of several viruses. During World War II he managed to purify several of the most common influenza viruses and developed a vaccine that was partly effective. In 1946 he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the 'preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form.'1904-08-16T00:00:00+0000| 16 Aug 1904 | | Wendell M Stanley was born in Ridgeville IN, USAStanley | Rockefeller Institute |
Sterne pioneered a vaccine against anthrax in 1935 which effectively wiped out the disease. He used Pasteur's methods to develop the vaccine while based at Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute, north of Pretoria, in South Africa. His method remains the mainstay for the production of anthrax vaccines for livestock today. In addition to the vaccine he developed bacterial culture methods for both anthrax and botulism and his work laid the foundation for a number of highly successful veterinary and animal vaccines.1905-06-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Jun 1905 | | Max Sterne was born in Trieste, AustriaSterne | Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute |
A medical researcher and virologist, Salk pioneered the first safe and effective polio vaccine. Introduced in 1955, Salk's vaccine helped curb one of the most frightening public health diseases in the world. Over 1,800,000 school children took part in the trial to test his vaccine. His vaccine used killed virus rather than weakened forms of the strain of polio used by Sabin to develop another vaccine against the disease. Salk refused to patent his vaccine and made his technique as widely available as possible. His polio vaccine is now on the World Health Organisation's List of Essential Medicine.1914-10-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Oct 1914 | | Jonas Salk was born in New York City, USASalk | University of Pittsburgh |
Robbins was a paediatrician and virologist who made his name in 1941 by helping to develop a tissue culture technique to grow the polio virus, one of the most feared diseases at the time. The method involved the growth of the virus using a mixture of human embryonic skin and muscle tissue. It provided an important step towards the development of a vaccine against polio. The tissue culture technique also helped scientists discover new respiratory viruses and paved the way to culturing the measles virus to make a vaccine against it. Robbins shared the 1954 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work.1916-08-25T00:00:00+0000| 25 Aug 1916 | | Frederick Chapman Robbins was born in Auburn AL, USARobbins | Western Reserve University |
A virologist, Koprowski invented the world's first effective live polio vaccine while at Lederle Laboratories. He developed the vaccine by attenuating the virus in brain cells of a cotton rat. In January 1948 he injected the vaccine into himself. The vaccine had the advantage that it directly entered the intestinal tract and provided long-lasting immunity. Within a decade the vaccine had been adopted on four continents. Koprowski went on to become the director of the Wistar Institute where in the 1960s he led efforts to improve the rabies vaccine. He subsequently became the first scientist, together with colleagues, to hold a patent for monoclonal antibodies. Born to Jewish parents, Koprowski was forced to flee Poland in 1939 after Germany invaded the country. 1916-12-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Dec 1916 | | Hilary Koprowski was born in Warsaw, PolandKoprowski | Lederle Laboratories, Wistar Institute |
Hilleman, a microbiologist, is credited with having saved more children's lives than any other medical scientist in the 20th century. He pioneered eight out of the fourteen vaccines routinely recommended for children today. This includes the vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae bacteria. Hilleman developed these vaccines as head of Merck & Co's virus and cell biology research department. 1919-08-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Aug 1919 | | Maurice Hilleman was born in Miles City, Montana, USAHilleman | Merck & Co |
Blumberg was a physician and geneticist who won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for his discovery of a surface antigen for the hepatitis B virus. He found the antigen while conducting work on blood samples from different populations from around the world to understand genetic variations in susceptibility to disease. The antigen was first spotted testing a blood sample from a haemophiliac patient in New York against blood taken from a visiting Korean physician. Blumberg's discovery paved the way to the development of the first screen test for hepatitis B to prevent its spread in blood donations. His research also helped in the creation of the first vaccine against the disease, which to this day is the gold standard in the management of the disease.
1925-07-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Jul 1925 | | Baruch S. Blumberg born in New York NY, USABlumberg | Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania |
The vaccine was developed by Alexis Carel with Tom Rivers. It was made from vaccinia, or cowpox virus, collected from calf lymph fluid. The vaccine did not prove successful as it did not provide sufficient protection against smallpox, but it showed a way of developing safer vaccines by growing the virus in tissue culture. The technique was published in A Carrel, TM Rivers, 'La Fabrication du vaccin in vitro', Comptes Rendus Soc Biol, 96 (1927), 848. One of the advantages with the new method was that the vaccine had fewer side effects and did not leave a scar after vaccination. 1927-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1927 | | First viral vaccine developedCarrel, Rivers | Rockefeller University |
Invented by Philip Drinker, a young doctor at Harvard, the Iron Lung was the first artificial respirator to help patients to breathe despite being paralysed by polio. Treatment involved sealing a patient into a galvanised iron box from the neck down. Powered by by an electric motor with air pumps from two household vacuum cleaners the box had air pumped in and out to mimic the breathing rate of the patient. The first patient to use the machine was an eight year old girl paralysed with polio being cared for at Children's Hospital in Boston. She made a dramatic recovery within less than a minute of being in the device. The Iron Lung became obsolete after the arrival of the polio vaccine which helped eradicated the disease. 1928-10-12T00:00:00+0000| 12 Oct 1928 | | Iron lung machine used on patient for first timeDrinker | Harvard Medical School |
June Almeida was a major pioneer of electron microscopy which helped transform knowledge about virology. She is best known for taking the first electron micrograph of the rubella virus and a human coronavirus. Her work also helped uncover the structure of the hepatitis B virus which paved the way to developing a vaccine against hepatitis B. She also published some of the first high quality images of HIV. 1930-10-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Oct 1930 | | June Almeida was born in Glasgow, ScotlandAlmeida | Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical School |
Calmette was a French physician and bacteriologist who is credited with the discovery that the virulence of bovine tubercle bacilli is weakened when cultured on bile-containing medium. Discovered in 1908, this laid paved the way to the development of the tuberculosis vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). The vaccine was first used in newborn infants in Paris in 1921. Calmette also developed a diagnostic test for tuberculosis, known as Calmette's reaction.1933-10-29T00:00:00+0000| 29 Oct 1933 | | Albert Calmette diedCalmette | Institute Pasteur |
Falkow was a microbiologist who made his scientific mark by showing how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. During the 1960s he demonstrated that bacteria could acquire resistance by swapping genetic material via plasmids, small microbial DNA molecules. He studied a wide variety bacteria, from diarrhoea-causing E. coli Salmonella to bacteria that cause whooping cough and bubonic plague. For more on his work see https://www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/exhibitions/antimicrobial/index/virulence1934-01-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Jan 1934 | | Stanley Falkow was born in Albany, New York, USAFalkow | Georgetown University School of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Stanford University |
Nicolle was a French bacteriologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903 for identifying lice as the transmission vector for epidemic typhus and by working out how tick fever is transmitted. He also helped to discover the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis, a common infection that is usually harmless but can cause serious problems in some people. Nicolle also developed a vaccine for Malta fever, a disease now called brucellosis.1936-02-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Feb 1936 | | Charles J H Nicolle diedNicolle | |
Vaccination against yellow fever was introduced in the 1930s. The first British vaccine produced using a mixture of live, mouse-brain passaged virus with human immune serum together with normal serum. Between 1933 and 1938 89 cases of jaundice were observed among 3100 vaccines, about 3% of recipients. Most cases developed the jaundice 2-3 months after vaccination. GM Findlay, F.O. MacCallum, ' Hepatitis and jaundice associated with immunization against certain virus diseases: (section of comparative medicine)', Proc R Soc Med, 31/7 (1938), 799-806.1938-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1938 | | Jaundice and hepatitis found in 3% of 3,100 recipients of yellow fever vaccineFindlay, MacCallum | |
An American physician and bacteriologist, Zinsser isolated the bacterium that causes typhus and developed a protective vaccine against it. In 1935 he published the book 'Rats, Live and History' in which he recounted the effects of typhus on mankind and the efforts to eradicate it. In the book he argued that disease was responsible for more deaths than war.1940-09-04T00:00:00+0000| 4 Sep 1940 | | Hans Zinsser diedZinsser | Columbia University, Stanford University, Harvard University |
28,585 US soldiers were affected, 62 died. WA Sawyer, et al. 'Jaundice in Army personnel in the western region of the United States and its relation to vaccination against yellow fever', American Journal of Epidemiology, 39/3 (1944), 337-430; RH Turner, et al., 'Some clinical studies of acute hepatitis occurring in soldiers after inoculation with yellow fever vaccine', Annals Internal Medicine, 20 (1944), 193-218. Alarmed by the report the British government decided not to vaccine the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, against yellow fever. 1942-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1942 | | Yellow fever vaccine containing human serum caused massive jaundice outbreak in US armySawyer, Turner | |
50,000 US Army personal were hospitalised after receiving contaminated batches of yellow fever vaccine. The epidemic affected 300,000 American troops. G. Freeman, 'Epidemiology and incubation period of jaundice following yellow fever vaccination', American Journal Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, s26/1 (1946), 15-32.1946-01-01T00:00:00+0000| January 1946 | | Largest outbreak of serum hepatitis recorded following yellow vaccine campaign | |
The breakthrough was made by Hubert Loring and Carlton Schwerdt. They managed to isolate the virus with 80% purity. The work enabled the team to create the first vaccine in August 1947. Schwerdt continued to improve the technique and by 1953 had managed to isolate 100% pure polio virus with Bachrach Howard, laid the foundation for Jonas Salk to create a safe vaccine in 1955. 1947-01-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Jan 1947 | | First time polio virus was isolatedLoring, Schwerdt | Stanford University |
Wright was a British bacteriologist and immunologist who pioneered the development of a vaccine against typhoid in the 1890s. Initially the British military authorities were reluctant to roll out the vaccine, but limited trials during the Boer War proved its value. Further trials conducted among 3,000 soldiers in India confirmed its efficacy and the War Office used it to vaccinate British troops at the outset of World War I. Wright also developed vaccines against enteric tuberculosis and pneumonia. He also instrumental in research to understand how blood enzymes make bacteria more susceptible to phagocytosis by white blood cells.1947-04-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Apr 1947 | | Almroth E Wright diedWright | St Mary's Hospital |
The first polio vaccine, developed by Jonas Salk, was tested on children from Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Nearly 2 million children in 44 states were tested. The trial showed the vaccine to be effective. The vaccine radically reduced the number of polio victims around the world.1954-02-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Feb 1954 | | Salk polio vaccine trial beganSalk | University of Pittsburgh |
The Sabin vaccine is an oral vaccine that contains weakened forms of strains of polio viruses. It proved easier to give than an earlier injectable vaccine developed by Jonas Salk, in 1954, and its effects lasted longer. The vaccine was designed to work in the intestines to block the polio virus from entering the bloodstream. It therefore provided a means to break transmission chain of the virus and opened the way to eradicating polio. 1956-10-06T00:00:00+0000| 6 Oct 1956 | | Albert Sabin announced his oral polio vaccine was ready for mass testing on an international basisAlbert Sabin | Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research |
Mice injected with BCG vaccine shown to develop resistance to growth of implanted tumours. The finding was published in LJ Old, DA Clarke, B Benacerraf, 'Effect of bacillus calmette-guerin infection on transplanted tumours in the mouse', Nature, 184 (1959), 291-92.1959-07-25T00:00:00+0000| 25 Jul 1959 | | First direct evidence of the immune system's ability to prevent cancer provided by Lloyd Old and colleaguesOld, Clarke, Benacerraf | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
Goodpasture was an American research scientists who developed the first method for culturing uncontaminated viruses in chicken embryos and fertilised chicken eggs. Before this viruses were grown in living tissues which could be contaminated by bacteria. Goodpasture's method laid the foundation for the mass production of vaccines for diseases like smallpox, yellow fever, typhus and chicken pox. He was also a key pioneer in the development of the mumps vaccine. 1960-09-20T00:00:00+0000| 20 Sep 1960 | | Ernest Goodpasture diedGoodpasture | Harvard University |
Rivers was a bacteriologist and virologist whose development of a tissue culture for the vaccinia virus, in 1931, paved the way to the development of a vaccine against yellow-fever. He also made important contributions to understanding the viral causes of influenza and chickenpox. Rivers served as the director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1937-56) and chaired the virus research committee of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (now the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation) (1938-1955) which oversaw the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines against polio.1962-05-12T00:00:00+0000| 12 May 1962 | | Thomas M Rivers diedRivers | Rockefeller Institute |
Developed by Samuel Katz and John F Enders, the vaccine would later be incorporated into the MMR, a combination vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella.1963-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1963 - 1963 | | Development of first attentuated measles virus vaccineEnders, Katz | |
The vaccine was made by Maurice Hilleman using material taken from his daughter, Jeryl Lynn, when she suffered measles. The Jeryl strain of the mumps vaccine is still in use today and used in the MMR vaccine.1963-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1963 | | Creation of first vaccine against mumpsHilleman | Merck & Co |
Dick was an American physician and bacteriologist who made his name studying scarlet fever. In 1923 he and his wife, Gladys Rowena Dick, worked out that the disease was caused by a toxin released by a strain of Streptococcus bacteria. This enabled them to create an antitoxin for treatment and vaccine for prevention. They also developed a skin test to determine a person's susceptibility to the disease.1967-10-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Oct 1967 | | George Frederick Dick diedGeorge Dick | Rush Medical College, University of Chicago |
Hilleman launched the work based on sample HBsAg supplied to him by Alfred Prince1968-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1968 | | Maurice Hilleman began investigating use of HBsAg to develop hepatitis B vaccine Hilleman | Merck |
The vaccine, RA27/3 had been developed by a team headed by Stanley Plotkin.1969-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1969 - 1970 | | First license approved in US and Europe for vaccine against rubella (German measles)Plotkin | Wistar Institute |
Baruch Blumberg and Irving Millman appled for the patent following pressure from the Federal government to show applications from basic research. BS Blumberg, I Millman 'Vaccine against viral hepatitis and process', US patent 3636191A1969-10-08T00:00:00+0000| 8 Oct 1969 | | Blumberg and Millman applied for patent to use HBsAg to produce hepatitis B vaccineBlumberg, Millman | Fox Chase Cancer Center |
Stanley was an American biochemist and virologist. In 1935 he managed to crystalise the tobacco virus, the causative agent of plant disease. This was a major breakthrough because prior to this no scientists had succeeded in finding out what viruses were. His work laid the foundation for other scientists, using x-ray diffraction, to work out the precise molecular structures and reproduction process of several viruses. During World War II he managed to purify several of the most common influenza viruses and developed a vaccine that was partly effective. In 1946 he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the 'preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form.' 1971-06-15T00:00:00+0000| 15 Jun 1971 | | Wendell M Stanley diedStanley | Rockefeller Institute |
BS Blumberg, I Millman 'Vaccine against viral hepatitis and process', US patent 3636191A1972-01-18T00:00:00+0000| 18 Jan 1972 | | Patent granted to Blumberg and Millman for making hepatitis B vaccineBlumberg, Millman | |
Theiler was a South African trained physician who specialised in infectious diseases. He is best known for helping to show that yellow fever is caused by a virus and his development of a safe and effective vaccine against the disease. This work he did in the 1930s while based at the International Health Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. His first vaccine was used by the French government to protect the residents of French territories in Western Africa. A second one, an improved version, was launched in Brazil in 1938. Over 400 million doses of this vaccine was given out to people over the next 60 years. Theiler was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1951 for his yellow fever vaccine. 1972-08-11T00:00:00+0000| 11 Aug 1972 | | Max Theiler diedTheiler | |
1975-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1975 | | Pasteur Institute scientists started to develop fractionation method to purify HBsAg from plasma to produce hepatitis B vaccineTiollais | Pasteur Institute |
AU Bertland, AA Tytell, GP Lampson, E Buynak, 'Method for purifying hepatitis B antigen'm US Patent US4017360A. The patent was granted 12 April 1977.1975-05-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 May 1975 | | Merck filed US patent for technique to purify hepatitis B antigenBertland, Tytell, Lampson, Buynak | Merck |
WJ McAleer, EH Wamuth, 'Process for isolating hepatitis b antigen', US Patent 4024243. The patent was granted 17 May 1977.1975-06-16T00:00:00+0000| 16 Jun 1975 | | Merck filed US patent for process to isolate hepatitis B antigenMcAleer, Wasmuth | Merck |
The study carried out in 12 chimpanzees indicated the vaccine would be safe to test in humans, MR Hilleman, EB Buynak, RR Roehm, AA Tytell, AU Bertland, 'Purified and inactivated hepatitis vaccine: Progress Report', American Journal of Medical Sciences, 279/2 (1975), 401-4.1975-09-01T00:00:00+0000| September 1975 | | Merck reported positive results from chimpanzee trials with hepatitis B vaccine containing inactivated HBsAg antigenHilleman, Buynak, Roehm, Tytell, Bertland | Merck |
Conducted among 1,083 gay men in New York. Gay men were ten times more likely to get hepatitis B than the normal population. Men injected with the vaccine were found to be 75% less likely to get hepatitis B than those who didn't get the vaccine. The trial was done by Wolf Szmuness at New York Medical Center using the vaccine produced by Hilleman at Merck. 1978-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1978 - 1980 | | First clinical trials with plasma vaccine against hepatitis BSzmuness, Hilleman | New York Medical Center |
The vaccine was developed by Alfred Prince in partnership with John Vnek. Together they devised easier and less expensive purification steps than those used by Merck. The new vaccine required a tenth of the dose than Merck's vaccine. All these measures helped reduce the cost of the vaccine, which was 50 cents per dose. This compared with $90 to $100 for 3 doses of the Merck plasma vaccine. The low cost vaccine was licensed to Cheil Division of Samsung, Korea, Wuhan Institute in China and the Ministry of Healthy in Burma. 1978-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1978 - 1986 | | Low-cost plasma hepatitis B vaccine developedPrince, Vnek | New York Blood Center |
The patent was filed on the basis of work undertaken by Kenneth Murray. 1978-12-22T00:00:00+0000| December 1978 | | Biogen filed preliminary UK patent for technique to clone hepatitis B DNA and antigensKenneth Murray | Biogen, University of Edinburgh |
F Galibert, E Mandart, F Fitoussi, P Tiollais, P Charnay, , 'Nucleotide sequence of the hepatitis B virus genome (subtype ayw) cloned in E. coli. Nature, 281/5733 (1979), 646-50; P. Charnay, C Pourcel, A Louise, A Fritsch, P Tiollais, 'Cloning in Escherichia coli and physical structure of hepatitis B virion DNA', PNAS USA, 76/5 (1979), 2222-26; P Charnay, E Mandart, A Hampe, F Fitoussi, P Tiollais, F Galibert, 'Localization on the viral genome and nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the two major polypeptides of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs Ag)', Nucleic Acids Research, 7/2 (1979), 335-46.1979-05-01T00:00:00+0000| May 1979 - Oct 1979 | | Pasteur Institute scientists reported successful cloning of hepatitis B DNA in Escherichia coliGalibert, Mandart, Fitoussi, Tiollais, Charnay, Hampe | Pasteur Institute |
The research was funded by Merck with the aim of developing a recombinant vaccine against hepatitis B. It was published in P Valenzuela, P Gray, M Quiroga, J Zaldivar, H M Goodman, WJ Rutter, 'Nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the major protein of hepatitis B virus surface antigen', Nature, 280/5725 (1979), 815e819.1979-08-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Aug 1979 | | UCSF scientists announced the successful cloning and expression of HBsAg in Escherichia coliValenzuela, Gray, Quiroga, Zaldivar, Goodman, Rutter | University of California San Francisco, Merck |
The patent was based on the work of Kenneth Murray. It was granted in July 1990 as European Patent (UK) No 0182442. 1979-12-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Dec 1979 | | Biogen applied for European patent to clone fragment of DNA displaying hepatitis B antigen specificityMurray | Biogen |
The vaccine was developed by Stanley Plotkin, Hilary Koprowski and Tadeusz Wiktor at the Wistar Institute1980-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1980 | | US licensed first rabies vaccine for human useKoprowski, Plotkin, Wiktor | Wistar Institute |
1980-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1980 | | Pasteur Institute filed for US patent for fractionation method to purify HBsAg from plasma to produce hepatitis B vaccineTiollais | Pasteur Institute |
The vaccines were made with HBsAg purified from plasma of people with chronic hepatitis B. The vaccines were Hevac B Pasteur - made by Merieux and the Pasteur Institute and Hepatavax made by Maurice Hilleman at Merck.1982-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1982 | | First plasma vaccines against hepatitis B licensed for market in US and EuropeHilleman | Merieux, Institute Pasteur, Merck |
The programme, called the Hepatitis B eradication 5-year programme, used plasma-derived vaccines developed by Korean companies: Korean Green Cross, Cheil, and LG Industry. 1982-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1982 | | South Korea government launched nationwide hepatitis B immunisation programme | |
The trial was done with 37 healthy adult volunteers. The vaccine was made using HBsAg cloned in yeast. EM Scolnick, AA McLean, DJ West, WJ McAleer WJ Miller, EB Buynak, 'Clinical evaluation in healthy adults of a hepatitis B vaccine made by recombinant DNA', JAMA 251/21 (1984), 2812-15. 1984-06-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Jun 1984 | | Genetically engineered vaccine against hepatitis B reported to have positive trial resultsScolnick, McLean, West, McAleer , Miller, Buynak | Merck, University California San Francisco |
An American microbiologist, Enders shared the 1954 Nobel Prize for helping to develop a technique to grow the poliomyeltitis virus in various types of tissue culture. This he achieved with colleagues Thomas Weller and Fredric Robbins in 1949. Their technique paved the way for Jonas Salk's development of a vaccine against polio. Enders is also renowned for having helped pioneer the first measles vaccine. 1985-09-08T00:00:00+0000| 8 Sep 1985 | | John F Enders diedEnders | Children's Hospital Boston |
The vaccine, Hepatabox, was developed by Green Cross using Prince and Vnek's technique. 1986-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1986 | | Low-cost plasma vaccine against hepatitis B approved in Indonesia | |
The vaccine was first approved in West Germany, in May, and then in the US in July. The vaccine was regarded as a breakthrough because it was made from a genetically engineered sub-particle of the virus. This made it much safer than the original vaccine which used the virus sub-particle sourced from the blood of hepatitis B sufferers. The vaccine heralded a new era for the production of vaccines and is a major weapon against one of the most infectious diseases. 1986-05-01T00:00:00+0000| 1986 | | First genetically engineered vaccine against hepatitis B approvedScolnick | Merck |
HepataxinB was developed by Cheil Sugar using the technique licensed from Alfred Prince and John Vnek.1986-11-01T00:00:00+0000| November 1986 | | Low-cost plasma hepatitis B vaccine gained approval in South KoreaPrince, Vnek | Cheil Sugar |
1986-12-01T00:00:00+0000| December 1986 | | Genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine, Engerix-B, approved in Belgium | SmithKline Biologicals |
The technology was developed at Merck's plant in Montgomery County, Philadelphia. The deal was initiated by Roy Vagelos, Merck's CEO. The aim was to help China deal with its major hepatitis B problem.1989-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1989 | | Merck sold hepatitis B vaccination manufacturing technology to Chinese government for $7millionVagelos | Merck |
1989-01-01T00:00:00+0000| January 1989 | | Genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine, Engerix-B, approved in US | SmithKline Biologicals |
1989-05-01T00:00:00+0000| May 1989 | | Genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine, GenHevac, approved in France | Pasteur Vaccins |
The approval was given based on results from a clinical trial carried out by Harry Herr and Herbert Oettgen. The BCG vaccine stimulates an immune response that targets both the tuberculosis bacteria and bladder cancer cells. 1990-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1990 | | US FDA approved BCG, a bacterial vaccine against tuberculosis, to treat early stage bladder cancer. It was the first FDA approved immunotherapyHerr, Oettgen | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
1990-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1990 | | Hepatitis B vaccine cost US$3 per dose | |
1993-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1993 | | Hepatitis B vaccination manufacturing plant opened in Beijing, aided by Merck | Merck |
1994-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1994 | | Ten years after rolling out its nationwide hepatitis B vaccination programme Taiwan reported its children's HBsAg carrier rate had reduced from 10% to less than 1% | |
1994-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1994 | | Hepatitis B vaccination manufacturing plant opened in Shenzhen, aided by Merck | |
Wyckoff was a major pioneer of x-ray crystallography of bacteria. He helped develop a high-speed centrifuge for segregating microscopic and submicroscopic material to determine the sizes and molecular weights of small particles. In addition he purified the virus that causes equine encephalomyelitis which laid the foundation for the development of a vaccine to combat an epidemic of the disease in horses. His work in this field enabled him to create a vaccine against epidemic typhus for use in World War II.1994-11-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Nov 1994 | | Ralph W G Wyckoff diedWyckoff | University of Michigan, University of Arizona |
A medical researcher and virologist, Salk pioneered the first safe and effective polio vaccine. Introduced in 1955, Salk's vaccine helped curb one of the most frightening public health diseases in the world. Over 1,800,000 school children took part in the trial to test his vaccine. His vaccine used killed virus rather than weakened forms of the strain of polio used by Sabin to develop another vaccine against the disease. Salk refused to patent his vaccine and made his technique as widely available as possible. His polio vaccine is now on the World Health Organisation's List of Essential Medicine. 1995-06-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Jun 1995 | | Jonas Salk diedSalk | University of Pittsburgh |
Sterne pioneered a vaccine against anthrax in 1935 which effectively wiped out the disease. He used Pasteur's methods to develop the vaccine while based at Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute, north of Pretoria, in South Africa. His method remains the mainstay for the production of anthrax vaccines for livestock today. In addition to the vaccine he developed bacterial culture methods for both anthrax and botulism and his work laid the foundation for a number of highly successful veterinary and animal vaccines. 1997-02-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Feb 1997 | | Max Sterne diedSterne | Onderstepoort Veterinary Research Institute |
1999-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1999 | | Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) and the Vaccine Fund (VF) launched programme to support poor countries roll-out hepatitis B vaccination | |
2001-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 2001 | | WHO recorded that 126 (66%) of its 191 member states had universal infant or childhood hepatitis B vaccination programmes | |
2001-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 2001 | | Hepatitis B vaccine cost US$0.30 per dose | |
2003-05-01T00:00:00+0000| May 2003 | | GAVI/VF reported that 48 (64%) of poor countries eligible for their support had received funding to introduce hepatitits B vaccine | |
Robbins was an American paediatrician and virologist who made his name in 1941 by helping to develop a tissue culture technique to grow the polio virus, one of the most feared diseases at the time. The method involved the growth of the virus using a mixture of human embryonic skin and muscle tissue. It provided an important step towards the development of a vaccine against polio. The tissue culture technique also helped scientists discover new respiratory viruses and paved the way to being able to culture the measles virus to make a vaccine against it. Robbins shared the 1954 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work. 2003-08-04T00:00:00+0000| 4 Aug 2003 | | Frederick Chapman Robbins diedRobbins | Western Reserve University |
Hilleman, an American microbiologist, is credited with having saved more children's lives than any other medical scientist in the 20th century. He pioneered eight out of the fourteen vaccines routinely recommended for children today. This included the vaccines for measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae bacteria. Hilleman developed these vaccines as head of Merck & Co's virus and cell biology research department. 2005-04-11T00:00:00+0000| 11 Apr 2005 | | Maurice Hilleman diedHilleman | Merck & Co |
The vaccine RotaTeq took 25 years to develop. It was developed by Stanley Plotkin, H Fred Clark and Paul Offit.2006-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 2006 | | Vaccine approved for preventing rotavirus, a major kiler of children Plotkin, Clark, Offit | Wistar Institute |
2007-12-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Dec 2007 | | June Almeida diedAlmeida | Hammersmith Postgraduate Medical School |
Published in 'Nature Medicine', the system deloys glycoprotein D fused with genes from target antigens to increase the immune response. The work was led by Hildegund C.J. Ertl.2008-01-31T00:00:00+0000| 31 Jan 2008 | | New vaccine delivery system unveiled for preventing viral diseasesErtl | Wistar Institute |
2011-01-01T00:00:00+0000| January 2011 | | DNA sequencing proves useful to documenting the rapid evolution of Streptococcus pneumococci in response to the application of vaccines | Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute |
Blumberg was an American physician and geneticist who won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for his discovery of a surface antigen for the hepatitis B virus. He found the antigen while conducting work on blood samples from different populations from around the world to understand genetic variations in susceptibility to disease. The antigen was first spotted testing a blood sample from a haemophiliac patient in New York against blood taken from a visiting Korean physician. Blumberg's discovery paved the way to the development of the first screen test for hepatitis B to prevent its spread in blood donations. His research also helped in the creation of the first vaccine against the disease, which to this day is the gold standard in the management of the disease.2011-04-05T00:00:00+0000| 5 Apr 2011 | | Baruch S. Blumberg diedblumberg | Fox Chase Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania |
A Polish-born virologist, Koprowski invented the world's first effective live polio vaccine while at Lederle Laboratories. He developed the vaccine by attenuating the virus in brain cells of a cotton rat. In January 1948 he injected the vaccine into himself. The vaccine had the advantage that it directly entered the intestinal tract and provided long-lasting immunity. Within a decade the vaccine had been adopted on four continents. Koprowski went on to become the director of the Wistar Institute where in the 1960s he led efforts to improve the rabies vaccine. He subsequently became the first scientist, together with colleagues, to hold a patent for monoclonal antibodies. Born to Jewish parents, Koprowski was forced to flee Poland in 1939 after Germany invaded the country. 2013-04-11T00:00:00+0000| 11 Apr 2013 | | Hilary Koprowski diedKoprowski | Lederle Laboratories, Wistar Institute |
Vaccine developed by David Weiner together with collaborators at Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., GeneOne Life Science, Inc., National Microbiology Laboratory at the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the University of Pennsylvania.2016-06-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Jun 2016 | | FDA approved first clinical trial for zika virus vaccineWeiner | Wistar Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Inovio Pharmaceuticals, GeneOne Life Science, Public Health Agency of Canada |
The vaccine was developed by Dynavax2017-11-01T00:00:00+0000| November 2017 | | FDA approved a two-dose hepatitis B vaccine for use in adults aged 18 and over | Dynavax |
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