INFLUENCE OF PROCESS CONDITIONS ON MEASLES VIRUS STABILITY

Recombinant measles viruses are currently tested in clinical trials as oncolytic agent to be applied in cancer therapy. Contrary to their use as vaccine where 103 infectious virus particles per dose are needed, for cancer therapy 109 virus particles should be provided per dose. This leads to other challenges for the production process when compared to vaccine production. This study presents measles virus stability with regard to conditions during production and storage of the virus. Relevant process parameters such as temperature (4-37°C), pH (pH 4-11), conductivity (1.5 to 137.5 mS cm−1) and oxygen partial pressure were analyzed. The infectivity of measles virus particles decreased highly at 37 and 32°C, while at 22 and 4°C it remained stable for several hours or even days, respectively. The thermal inactivation reactions followed first order kinetic