On April 12–13, 2018, the “2018 China Rabies Conference” was grandly held in Changsha, Hunan. The conference was co-organized by the Chinese Society of Preventive Medicine, the Chinese Society of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, and the China Working Dog Management Association, with the theme of “…”. A New Journey Toward the Elimination of Rabies in the New Era With this theme, the conference invited over 1,000 experts and scholars from government agencies, professional associations, and research institutes in the fields of public health and animal health and veterinary medicine. Over the course of two days, the event featured discussions on four key topics: domestic and international advances in rabies prevention and control; surveillance and diagnostics; immunization and practical control measures; and post-exposure prophylaxis. Renowned experts from both China and abroad were in attendance, and more than a dozen leading specialists in rabies prevention and control delivered insightful presentations.

　　Rabies is an acute zoonotic infectious disease with a 100% fatality rate. Globally, approximately 55,000 people die from rabies each year, the vast majority in rural areas of Asia and Africa. Vaccination remains the most effective means of preventing this disease. Worldwide, about 60,000 people succumb to rabies annually, with 99% of these deaths occurring in developing countries. Asia accounts for the highest number of cases globally, with India experiencing the most severe burden. In China, the incidence of rabies ranks second only to that of India; during the peak of the epidemic in 2007, reported annual cases reached as high as 3,300. From 2004 to 2014, rabies consistently ranked among the top three causes of death from infectious diseases in China.

Number of Human Rabies Cases and Incidence Rate in China, 2000–2017

　　Currently, there are four main types of rabies vaccines available on the market. Among them, Vero cell–based vaccines are widely used worldwide due to their mild adverse reactions, good efficacy, and low cost. In the domestic market, Vero cell vaccines dominate; by contrast, ground squirrel kidney and primary chicken embryo cell–derived vaccines have seen very few batches approved in recent years. Meanwhile, human diploid cell–based vaccines, owing to their high production costs and relatively high prices, have not gained widespread acceptance, resulting in limited annual batch releases. At present, only two companies—Chengdu Kanghua and Beijing Minhai (which recently went public)—offer such vaccines. At present, both internationally and domestically, human rabies vaccines can be broadly classified into two major categories based on the species of the cell substrate used:

　　1) Human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV): This vaccine is produced using human-derived cells, such as the human embryonic lung fibroblast cell line MRC‑5. It elicits a robust immune response and exhibits excellent safety profiles, making it the WHO‑recommended gold‑standard reference vaccine. Currently, it is primarily used in developed countries such as North America and Western Europe. Beijing Minhai’s human diploid cell rabies vaccine received notification of an on-site inspection in January 2018 and is expected to be approved for market launch in 2018, becoming the first domestic company to obtain approval for a fourth‑generation rabies vaccine.

　　2) Animal-cell‑based vaccines: These vaccines use primary hamster kidney cells, chicken embryo cells, or passaged cell lines—such as Vero (African green monkey kidney cells)—as the substrate for virus cultivation. At present, hamster kidney cells and chicken embryo cells have largely been phased out in China, with very limited coverage.

　　At present, Vero cell rabies vaccine is the global mainstream product, with over one billion doses administered worldwide. However, human diploid cell–derived rabies vaccine is non‑tumorigenic and offers superior safety; it is already widely used in Europe and North America and is expected to gradually replace Vero cell vaccine in the domestic market in the future.

　　1) Safe and effective, with no tumorigenic potential. Human diploid cell lines are of human origin, ensuring safety and efficacy without tumorigenicity; when animal cells are used in vaccine production, potential risks—such as cellular DNA and growth‑promoting proteins—should be carefully considered.

　　2) The gold-standard rabies vaccine as defined by the WHO. Because the diploid cell–derived rabies vaccine elicits a robust immune response, generates high titers of neutralizing antibodies, and is associated with no serious adverse reactions, it has been designated by the World Health Organization as the gold standard for rabies vaccination.

　　3) In countries such as North America and Western Europe, vaccination with diploid cell‑derived rabies vaccines is the predominant approach. At present, the United States primarily uses diploid cell‑derived rabies vaccines and does not employ Vero cell–based vaccines, mainly because Vero‑passaged cells are considered to possess tumorigenic properties, posing certain risks.

　　Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has entered into a technology licensing agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, a leading global vaccine manufacturer with over a century of history, acquiring the complete production technology for the human diploid cell‑based rabies vaccine (HDCV), along with advanced management systems covering facility design, equipment procurement, and production and quality‑control processes. This marks the first time Sanofi Pasteur has transferred its full HDCV production technology and associated products to an overseas partner.

　　Sanofi Pasteur’s “human diploid cell–derived rabies vaccine” is the global “gold standard” for human rabies vaccines and serves as the benchmark against which all other human rabies vaccines are evaluated. China currently lacks this technology, and because foreign‑made vaccines are extremely expensive, direct importation would be unaffordable for the general public. The introduction of this technology by Beijing Minhai Biotechnology Co., Ltd. will bolster the development of Beijing’s biopharmaceutical sector, enable a leap‑forward in the domestic vaccine industry, and significantly enhance China’s capacity to produce high‑quality rabies vaccines.