Development of a Quadrivalent Combined DTaP-HepB Vaccine with a Low Toxicity and a Stable HBsAg Immunogenicity

When developing a combined DTaP-HepB vaccine, toxicity and HBsAg immunogenicity are both important considerations. Thus, for a combined DTaP-HepB vaccine with a low toxicity, the effect of the DTaP content and $Al(OH)_3$, gel concentration on the vaccine toxicity was investigated. Within the range studied, the higher the concentrations, the higher the vaccine toxicity. The importance of the tetanus toxoid content in the combined DTaP-HepB vaccine was also revealed. A higher concentration of the tetanus toxoid was found to have a negative effect on the stability of the HBsAg immunogenicity in the combined vaccine. Accordingly, considering the factors affecting toxicity and HBsAg immunogenicity, a novel DTaP-HepB vaccine (30 Lf/ml of diphtheria toxoid, 5 Lf/ml of tetanus toxoid, 10 $\mu\textrm{g}$ PN/ml of acellular pertussis, 24 $\mu\textrm{g}$/ml of HBsAg, and 500 $\mu\textrm{g}$ Al/ml of $Al(OH)_3$ gel) was developed. It has a low toxicity and a stable HBsAg immunogenicity and also satisfies the potency criteria of K-FDA for a combined DTaP vaccine.