Animal Models and Alternatives in the Quality Control of Vaccines: Are In Vitro Methods or In Vivo Methods the Scientific Equivalent of the Emperor's New Clothes?

Abstract

In the quality control of vaccine batches, the potency testing of inactivated vaccines is one of the areas requiring very large numbers of animals, which usually suffer significant distress as a result of the experimental procedures employed. This article deals with the potency testing of diphtheria and tetanus toxoids, two vaccines which are used extensively throughout the world. The relevance of the potency test prescribed by the European Pharmacopoeia monographs is questioned. The validity of the potency test as a model for the human response, the ability of the test to be standardised, and the relevance of the test in relation to the quality of the product are discussed. It is concluded that the potency test has only limited predictive value for the antitoxin responses to be expected in recipients of these toxoids. An alternative approach for estimating the potency of toxoid batches is discussed, in which a distinction is made between estimation of the immunogenic potency of the first few batches obtained from a seed lot and monitoring the consistency of the quality of subsequent batches. The use of animals is limited to the first few batches. Monitoring the consistency of the quality of subsequent batches is based on in vitro test methods. Factors which hamper the introduction and acceptance of the alternative approach are considered. Finally, proposals are made for replacement, reduction and/or refinement (the Three Rs) in the use of animals in the routine potency testing of toxoids.