Development of a freeze-stable formulation for vaccines containing aluminum salt adjuvants

Vaccines containing aluminum salt adjuvants are prone to inactivation following exposure to freeze–thaw stress. Many are also prone to inactivation by heat. Thus, for maximum potency, these vaccines must be maintained at temperatures between 2 °C and 8 °C which requires the use of the cold chain. Nevertheless, the cold chain is not infallible. Vaccines are subject to freezing during both transport and storage, and frozen vaccines are discarded (under the best circumstances) or inadvertently administered despite potentially reduced potency. Here we describe an approach to minimize our reliance on the proper implementation of the cold chain to protect vaccines from freeze–thaw inactivation. By including PEG 300, propylene glycol, or glycerol in a hepatitis B vaccine, particle agglomeration, changes in the fluorescence emission spectrum – indicative of antigen tertiary structural changes – and losses of in vitro and in vivo indicators of potency were prevented following multiple exposures to −20 °C. The effect of propylene glycol was examined in more detail and revealed that even at concentrations too low to prevent freezing at −10 °C, −20 °C, and −80 °C, damage to the vaccine could be prevented. A pilot study using two commercially available diphtheria, tetanus toxoid, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines suggested that the same stabilizers might protect these vaccines from freeze–thaw agglomeration as well. It remains to be determined if preventing agglomeration of DTaP vaccines preserves their antigenic activity following freeze–thaw events.