Pioneering role of Croatia and Institute of Immunology in production and quality control of vaccines

Institute of Immunology is the institution with a long tradition of production of viral vaccines, dating back to 1893 when the production of our smallpox vaccine began at the institution Royal Institute of Animal Vaccine Against Smallpox in Zagreb (1893.), which was the predecessor of today’s Institute of Immunology, in order to enable the implementation of the law on mandatory vaccination, with aim of smallpox eradication by using vaccine produced at the Institute of Immunology.

The role of the Institute of Immunology in promoting the importance of vaccination

Nowadays, the occurrence of campaigns against vaccination is becoming more often trying to convince parents that vaccination of their children is not necessary, which reduces vaccination coverage in the population and in turn increases the risk of epidemics of infectious diseases.

Institute of Immunology promotes the importance of vaccination by its continuous activity:

• vaccination is one of the greatest achievements of modern medicine
• the aim of vaccination is to reduce or eliminate the risk of serious diseases
• vaccination is one of the most effective measures to prevent getting infectious diseases
• vaccination is one of the public health interventions that has significantly contributed to reducing mortality from numerous infectious diseases.

Revitalization of the Institute of Immunology – strategic project of the Republic of Croatia

• Croatian Government has made the Conclusion regarding the revitalization of the Institute of Immunology, the institution with more than 130 years of tradition in manufacturing vaccines and other biological medicinal products.
• Presently the revitalization of production of viral vaccines, human plasma products and viper venom antiserum takes place.
• The revitalization includes the construction of the new production facilities for all the above-mentioned biological medicines with included viral vaccines production plant. Start of construction of the viral vaccines production plant is planned at the end of 2026 after the process of public bidding, with predicted start of production during 2028/2029.

Market potential and export opportunities

• Vaccines produced at the Institute of Immunology have been marketed in more than 100 countries over the decades.
• Target markets for viral vaccines produced in future new production facilities of the Institute of Immunology will be the markets of the WHO and UNICEF programs, the markets of South and Southeast Asia and Latin America and Africa, given the long-standing interest of these regions in the Institute of Immunology’s viral vaccines and the fact that they have been present on international markets, especially in South and Southeast Asia, for many years. Due to their long-standing recognition and global demand, competitiveness is also expected in the markets of South America and Africa.
• The global vaccine market is experiencing continuous and rapid growth, and the value of the global market has quadrupled in the last 20 years.
• Global trends in the field of vaccines are influenced by demographic factors including population growth and aging, as well as technological advances in vaccine development and production.

According to the World Health Organization, the measles virus is considered one of the most contagious human viruses, which is why the continued availability of vaccines is an important component of planning public health measures.