Contributor to global efforts to eradicate Polio

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that can attack the nervous system and, in severe cases, cause irreversible paralysis. While the disease has been eliminated in most parts of the world, transmission continues in a small number of countries, making ongoing immunisation efforts essential.
The global fight against polio is one of public health's greatest success stories. Since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, cases have fallen by more than 99%, bringing the world closer than ever to eradication.

More than a century of public health commitment

Bilthoven Biologicals has served public health since 1909, and polio vaccines have long been at the heart of that mission.
Today, we manufacture both Inactivated Poliomyelitis Vaccine (IPV) and Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine (OPV), helping ensure reliable access to vaccines that remain essential to global eradication efforts. Our IPV has been WHO prequalified since 2010, supporting immunisation programmes across the world. Since then, hundreds of millions of doses have been supplied to protect children against this devastating disease.
Through our manufacturing activities and partnerships, we continue to contribute to a future in which no child is paralysed by polio.

Two vaccines. One goal.
Although both vaccines protect against polio, they work in different ways and play complementary roles in eradication programmes.
Inactivated Poliomyelitis Vaccine (IPV) is administered by injection and contains polioviruses that have been inactivated so they cannot cause disease. The vaccine stimulates a strong immune response that protects individuals from paralysis and is widely used in routine immunisation programmes worldwide.
Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine (OPV) is administered orally and contains weakened polioviruses. Because the vaccine replicates in the intestine, it helps reduce virus transmission within communities. This makes OPV a valuable tool during outbreak response campaigns and in regions where rapid interruption of transmission is required.
Together, IPV and OPV form a powerful combination in the global strategy to eradicate polio.

From cell to vaccine
Producing a polio vaccine is a highly controlled process requiring specialised facilities, rigorous quality systems and decades of expertise.
For IPV, vaccine production begins with carefully controlled cultivation of poliovirus strains in host cells. After growth, the virus is harvested, purified and chemically inactivated to ensure it can no longer cause disease while still stimulating a protective immune response. The vaccine is then formulated, filled and extensively tested before release.

Protecting communities against polio requires more than vaccines alone. It requires expertise, collaboration and long-term commitment.

Worldwide collaborations
Eradicating polio requires global collaboration. We work with organisations such as UNICEF and PAHO to support access to affordable polio vaccines in underserved regions. Together with governments, public health agencies and global partners, these programmes help strengthen immunisation systems and protect vulnerable populations across Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
We are proud to contribute to these efforts alongside organisations including the Gates Foundation, Gavi, UNICEF and WHO. Together with our parent company, Serum Institute of India, we share a commitment to making life-saving vaccines available wherever they are needed most.

Looking ahead
The world is closer than ever to eradicating polio, but the job is not yet complete. As long as transmission continues anywhere, children everywhere remain at risk.
We will continue supplying vaccines, sharing our expertise and working with global partners to help achieve a world free from polio.