ACAM2000
Encyclopedia
ACAM2000 is a smallpox vaccine
developed by Acambis. It was approved for use in the United States by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 31 August 2007. It contains live vaccinia
virus, cloned from the same strain used in an earlier vaccine
, Dryvax
. While the DryVax virus was cultured in the skin of calves and freeze-dried, ACAM2000's virus is cultured in kidney epithelial cells (Vero cells) from an African green monkey. Efficacy and adverse reaction incidence are similar to DryVax. The vaccine is not routinely available to the US public; it is, however, used in the military and maintained in the Strategic National Stockpile
.
Smallpox vaccine
The smallpox vaccine was the first successful vaccine to be developed. The process of vaccination was discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, who acted upon his observation that milkmaids who caught the cowpox virus did not catch smallpox...
developed by Acambis. It was approved for use in the United States by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on 31 August 2007. It contains live vaccinia
Vaccinia
Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, and which encodes for approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the virion are roughly 360 × 270 × 250 nm, with a mass of...
virus, cloned from the same strain used in an earlier vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
, Dryvax
Dryvax
Dryvax is a freeze-dried calf lymph smallpox vaccine. It is the world's oldest smallpox vaccine, created in the late 19th century by American Home Products, a predecessor of Wyeth. By the 1940s, Wyeth was the leading US manufacturer of the vaccine and the only manufacturer by the 1960s...
. While the DryVax virus was cultured in the skin of calves and freeze-dried, ACAM2000's virus is cultured in kidney epithelial cells (Vero cells) from an African green monkey. Efficacy and adverse reaction incidence are similar to DryVax. The vaccine is not routinely available to the US public; it is, however, used in the military and maintained in the Strategic National Stockpile
Strategic National Stockpile
The Strategic National Stockpile is the United States' national repository of antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, antitoxins and other critical medical equipment and supplies...
.