Contribuições da Biotecnologia no desenvolvimento e produção de vacinas de primeira, segunda e terceira gerações.

Abstract

Since the groundbreaking discoveries of Jenner and Pasteur, the development of immunization techniques has undergone numerous technological advances. These advances have provided important benefits in the field of public health, with the eradication of diseases, prevention of epidemics and significant reduction in deaths from infectious diseases. After the advent of biotechnology were enlarged the borders of vaccinology, with technological support to the development of increasingly safe and effective vaccines. There was a significant impact on how the first and second generation vaccines are developed and has also enabled the development of a third generation, the DNA vaccines. This latest generation has expanded the vision of the vaccines, just before employed preventively, and enabled the development of therapeutic vaccines applied also in the treatment of non-infectious diseases, such as cancer. There is currently a worldwide search for new vaccines for the major public health problems. And Brazil has developed programs aimed at self-sufficiency in the sector, in order to reduce public spending on imported vaccines and focus specifically on national epidemiological problems.