Vaccine Vial Monitors to monitor potential heat damage of H1N1 vaccines donated to WHO

Oct 23 2009

Temptime Corporation announced today that it will donate its Vaccine Vial Monitors (VVMs) to the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor potential heat damage of H1N1 vaccines to be distributed by WHO to developing countries most in need. “There are challenges related to the rapid distribution of the H1N1 vaccine during a pandemic situation, including the need to maintain proper temperature control of the vaccines from the manufacturer to the recipient. The use of vaccine vial monitors on donated H1N1 vaccine will allow health care providers to check the vaccine, prior to patient vaccination, to determine whether or not the vaccine has been exposed to excessive heat which might have rendered it ineffective”, states WHO Scientist, Umit Kartoglu, MD, DPH.

The donated VVMs (marketed under the name HEATmarker®) are miniaturized, self adhesive devices that are affixed to temperature sensitive medical products to monitor storage and transport until time of use. The monitor progressively and irreversibly changes color as the vaccine is exposed to heat over time. As a VVM reaches its endpoint, an easy to read signal allows healthcare providers to determine if the vaccine has been exposed to potentially damaging heat and should not be used.

“When Temptime learned that WHO was receiving certain quantities of H1N1 vaccine for distribution to developing countries most in need, we quickly decided to support this global health initiative by donating VVMs to WHO for use on the donated vials of H1N1 vaccine” said Ted Prusik, PhD, after attending a meeting in Geneva with the World Health Organization.

Vaccine manufacturers have applied VVMs to vaccines distributed through WHO and UNICEF for the past twelve years. www.WHO.int/features/2007/vvm/en/index.html A 2006 joint study by the WHO and PATH showed VVMs identified more than 23 million doses of vaccine that were damaged by heat and therefore were not administered to patients and, identified more that 31 million doses of vaccine that were exposed to potentially damaging heat, but were still effective for use, thus avoiding the waste of vaccines vital to the health and well being of children in developing nations.