# Standard Vaccine Manufacturer Abbreviations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\
Office of the Chief Science Officer\
Immunization Safety Office\
Vaccine Identification Standards Initiative

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\'s (CDC\'s) Vaccine
Identification Standards Initiative (VISI) proposed the following
standardized abbreviations for vaccine and biologics manufacturers and
distributors to facilitate accuracy, precision, convenience, and
consistency, and avoid ambiguity in medical record keeping, written
communications, and scientific publications. For retrospective
reference, the list includes manufacturers which previously produced
vaccines, but are now inactive or merged into other corporate entities.
When practical, the company\'s stock ticker abbreviation is used.

**Note:** Do not confuse these abbreviations with \"MVX\" codes for the
[[Health Level Seven (HL7) code
set.]{.underline}](http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/iis/stds/mvx.htm)
The MVX codes were developed for storing data in computer databases and
for electronic interchange among computers serving immunization
registries. They were not intended as intuitive abbreviations for
medical record keeping, oral communication, or published documents. MVX
codes generally remain the same after changes in corporate identities of
manufacturers or distributors as a result of mergers, takeovers,
spinoffs, and renamings.

  ------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------
  **Abbreviation**   **Vaccine Manufacturer/Distributor**

  **ACM**            Acambis Plc

  **ADL**            Adams Laboratories

  **AGEN**           Antigenics, Inc.

  **ALI**            Abbott Laboratories, Inc.

  **ALKA**           ALK-Abelló

  **ALPV**           AlphaVax, Inc.

  **ALT**            Alpha Therapeutic Corporation

  **AML**            Amrad Corporation

  **ANX**            Antex Biologics, Inc.

  **APM**            Aventis Pasteur MSD \[joint venture of Aventis Pasteur and
                     Merck; successor entity for Pasteur-Mérieux **MSD**\]

  **ARC**            [[American Red Cross]{.underline}](http://www.redcross.org/)

  **ARM**            Armour Pharmaceuticals \[abbreviation and/or name
                     superseded; see **CEN** and **AVB**\]

  **AVAN**           Avant Immunotherapeutics, Inc.

  **AVB**            Aventis Behring L.L.C. \[successor entity for Armour
                     Pharmaceuticals (**ARM**) and Centeon LLC (**CTN**)\]

  **AVIR**           Aviron \[purchased by and absorbed into Medimmune
                     (**MEDI**)\]

  **AVP**            Aventis Pasteur \[includes Aventis Pasteur, S.A. (France),
                     Aventis Pasteur, Inc. (Swiftwater, PA, USA), Aventis
                     Pasteur, Ltd. (Ontario, Canada)\] \[subsidiary of Aventis
                     S.A., successor entity for Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc, which
                     absorbed Connaught Laboratories, Inc. (**CON**), Connaught
                     Laboratories, Ltd. (**CNL**), Institut Mérieux (**MER**),
                     Pasteur Vaccins (**PV**), Pasteur Mérieux Sérums et Vaccins
                     (**PMSV**), Pasteur Mérieux Connaught (**PMC**), Marion
                     Merrell Dow, National Drug Company, Merrell National
                     Laboratories (**MRN**), and Richardson Merrell\]

  **AVXT**           AVAX Technologies, Inc.

  **ALX**            AltaRex Corp.

  **BAY**            Bayer AG \[successor entity for Miles Laboratories, Inc.
                     (**MIL**) and Cutter Laboratories (**CUT**)\]

  **BAVA**           Bavarian Nordic GmbH

  **BAX**            Baxter BioScience, Vaccinesdivison, Baxter International
                     Inc. \[formerly Hyland Immuno division; absorbed Immuno AG
                     and Immuno International AG (**IAG**), Immuno-U.S., Inc.
                     (**IUS**), and North American Vaccine, Inc. (**NAV**)\]

  **BCH**            BioChem Pharma \[absorbed by merger into Shire Biologics, a
                     subsidiary of Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, plc (**SHP**)\]

  **BER**            Berna Products Corporation \[successor entity for Swiss
                     Serum and Vaccine Institute, Berne, Switzerland (**SSV**)\]

  **BIB**            Bharat Immunological and Biologicals Corp., Limited (India)

  **BIK**            BIKEN, The Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases of
                     Osaka University \[manufacturing collaboration with Eisai
                     Co., Ltd (**EISA**)\]

  **BIOF**           PT Bio Farma (Indonesia)

  **BION**           Bionetics Research, Inc. \[inactive\] \[abbreviation and/or
                     name superseded, see **OTC**\]

  **BIOR**           BioReliance Corporation

  **BMAN**           Bio-Manguinhos - Instituto de Tecnologia em Imunobiológicos
                     (Brazil)

  **BMY**            Bristol-Myers Squibb

  **BPT**            BioPort Corporation \[successor entity for Michigan Biologic
                     Products Institute (**MIP**)\]

  **CANS**           Cancer Association of South Africa (**CANSA**)

  **CANT**           Cantacuzino Institute

  **CDC**            [[Centers for Disease Control and
                     Prevention]{.underline}](http://www.cdc.gov/)

  **CELS**           CEL-SCI Corporation

  **CHIR**           Chiron Corporation \[includes wholly-owned subsidiaries
                     PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc (**PJP**), Chiron Behring
                     GmbH & Co.which absorbed Behringwerke AG vaccine business,
                     Chiron S.p.A. which absorbed Sclavo (SCL) vaccine business,
                     and former Biocine joint venture of Chiron and Ciba Geigy\]

  **CHJD**           CheilJedang Corporation(South Korea)

  **CNL**            Connaught Laboratories, Ltd. (Ontario, Canada)
                     \[abbreviation and/or name superseded; see **AVP**\]

  **CNTB**           Cantab Pharmaceuticals plc

  **COLY**           Coley Pharmaceuticals Group

  **CON**            Connaught Laboratories, Inc.(Swiftwater, PA, USA)
                     \[abbreviation and/or name superseded; see **AVP**\] (former
                     subsidiary of Connaught Laboratories, Ltd., Toronto,
                     Ontario, Canada; prior to privatization: the Connaught
                     Medical Research Laboratories of the University of Toronto)

  **CRXA**           Corixa Corporation

  **CSL**            CSL Limited \[formerly Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Pty
                     Ltd\]

  **CTC**            Centocor \[wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson\]

  **CTI**            Cancer Therapeutics, Inc.

  **CTN**            Centeon L.L.C. \[successor entity for Armour Pharmaceutical
                     Company (**ARM**); abbreviation and/or name superseded, see
                     **AVB**\]

  **CUT**            Cutter Laboratories \[inactive\] \[see **BAY**\]

  **CYTN**           Cytos Biotechnology AG

  **DOW**            Dow Chemical Company \[inactive\]

  **DVC**            DynPort Vaccine Company LLC

  **EISA**           Eisai Co., Ltd \[manufacturing collaboration with Biken
                     (**BIK**)\]

  **ELN**            Elan Pharmaceuticals

  **EVN**            Evans Vaccines Ltd.(wholly owned subsidiary of PowderJect
                     Pharmaceuticals Plc) \[formerly Evans Medical, Ltd., which
                     acquired vaccine business of Wellcome (**WEL**); Evans was
                     acquired by and renamed to Medeva (**MDV**); MDV vaccine
                     business subsequently acquired by PowderJect and Evans name
                     restored\]

  **FFF**            FFF Enterprises

  **GPO**            Government Pharmaceutical Organization (Thailand)

  **GSK**            GlaxoSmithKline plc \[merger of Glaxo Wellcome plc (**GLX**,
                     which absorbed Wellcome (**WEL**)) and SmithKline Beecham
                     plc (**SBB** and **SB**), which earlier absorbed Recherche
                     et Industrie Thérapeutiques (**RIT**)\]

  **GRE**            Greer Laboratories

  **HUM**            HUMAN Serum Production and Medicine Manufacturing Company
                     Limited (Hungary)

  **IAF**            INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Institut National de la
                     Recherche Scientifique, Université du Québec

  **IAG**            Immuno AG, Immuno International AG \[abbreviation and/or
                     name superseded, absorbed into Baxter Healthcare Corporation
                     (**BAX**)\]

  **IDBE**           ID Biomedical Corporation

  **IDT**            Impfstoffwerk Dessau-Tornau GmbH (Germany)

  **IEX**            Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation

  **IIZ**            Instituteof Immunology (Zagreb, Croatia)

  **IMER**           Institut Mérieux \[inactive; formed Pasteur Vaccins (**PV**)
                     joint venture with Institut Pasteur; later became Pasteur
                     Mérieux Sérums et Vaccins (**PMSV**), then Pasteur Mérieux
                     Connaught (PMC) subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc, then Aventis
                     Pasteur (AVP)\]

  **IMNR**           Immune Response Corporation

  **INNX**           Innogenetics

  **INTC**           Intercell AG, CISTEM Biotechnologies GmbH

  **INTV**           InterVax Biologicals Limited

  **IOM**            Iomai Corporation

  **IPVE**           Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitis (Russia)

  **ITLV**           Intellivax, Inc., Intellivax International, Inc. \[became
                     wholly owned subsidiary of ID Biomedical Corporation
                     (**IDBE**)\]

  **IUS**            Immuno-U.S., Inc. \[abbreviation and/or name superseded, see
                     **BAX**\]

  **KGCC**           Korea Green Cross Corporation (South Korea)

  **LED**            Lederle Laboratories Division American Cyanamid Company
                     \[absorbed into Wyeth (**WYE**)\]

  **LET**            Laboratorios Leti (Grupo Farmacéutico Leti) (Spain)

  **LG**             Lucky Goldstar Chemical, Ltd.(Pharmaceutical Division)
                     (South Korea)

  **LIL**            Eli Lilly and Company \[inactive\]

  **MAB**            Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories, University of
                     Massachusetts \[formerly Massachusetts Public Health
                     Biologic Laboratories\]

  **MDG**            MediGene AG

  **MDV**            Medeva plc and Celltech Medeva Pharma \[inactive\]
                     \[successor entity for vaccine line of Evans Medical, Ltd.
                     (**EVN**); line subsequently sold; abbreviation and name
                     superseded, see **EVN**\]

  **MEDI**           MedImmune, Inc. \[purchased Aviron (**AVIR**)\]

  **MEJ**            Mead Johnson \[inactive\] \[subsidiary of Bristol-Myers
                     Squibb **BMY**\]

  **MICR**           Microscience Ltd

  **MIL**            Miles Laboratories \[abbreviation and/or name superseded;
                     see **BAY**\]

  **MIP**            Michigan Biologic Products Institute (formerly Michigan
                     Department of Public Health) \[abbreviation and/or name
                     superseded; see **BP**\]

  **MRK**            Merck and Co., Inc. \[successor name for Merck, Sharpe, and
                     Dohme, Inc. (**MSD**)\]

  **MRN**            Merrell National Laboratories, Division of Richardson
                     Merrell \[inactive, see **AVP**\]

  **MSD**            Merck, Sharpe, and Dohme, Inc. \[abbreviation and/or name
                     superseded; see **MRK**\]

  **NABI**           NABI \[successor entity for North American Biologicals,
                     Inc.\]

  **NAV**            North American Vaccine, Inc. \[absorbed into Baxter
                     Healthcare Corporation (**BAX**)\]

  **NCI**            [[National Cancer
                     Institute,]{.underline}](http://www.nci.nih.gov/) National
                     Institutes of Health (USA)

  **NCIP**           National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (Sofia,
                     Bulgaria)

  **NOV**            Novartis \[formerly Sandoz (**SAN**) and Ciba-Geigy\]

  **NVI**            Nederlands Vaccin Instituut(Netherlands Vaccine Institute)
                     \[see **RIVM** and **SVM**\]

  **NWBT**           Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.

  **NYB**            [[New York Blood
                     Center]{.underline}](http://www.nybloodcenter.org/)

  **ORA**            OraVax, Inc. \[abbreviation and/or name superseded:
                     subsidiary of Peptide Therapeutics Group, plc; see **PTE**\]

  **ORT**            Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics \[a Johnson & Johnson company;
                     successor entity for Ortho Diagnostic Systems, Inc.\]

  **OTC**            Organon Teknika Corporation, Organon Teknika, B.V.
                     \[successor entity for Bionetics Research, Inc. (**BIR**)\]

  **PD**             Parke Davis \[inactive, transferred influenza vaccine
                     production to Parkedale Pharmaceuticals (**PDL**)\]

  **PDL**            Parkedale Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (subsidiary of King
                     Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) \[inactive; successor entity for
                     Parke Davis influenza vaccine production\]

  **PFI**            Pfizer, Ltd. \[inactive\]

  **PHMX**           Pharmexa A/S

  **PHR**            Philips Roxane, Inc. \[inactive name; became Solvay
                     Pharmaceuticals (**SOL**)\]

  **PJP**            PowderJect Pharmaceuticals plc \[wholly owned subsidiary of
                     Chiron Corporation (**CHIR**). Includes PowderJect Vaccines,
                     Inc.; PowderJect earlier acquired SBL Vaccin AB (**SBL**)
                     and the vaccine business of Medeva (**MDV**), restoring the
                     Evans name to the wholly-owned subsidiary, Evans Vaccines,
                     Ltd. (see **EVN**)\]

  **PMC**            Pasteur Mérieux Connaught \[abbreviation and name
                     superseded; see **AVP**\]

  **PMSV**           Pasteur Mérieux Sérums et Vaccins \[formerly Pasteur
                     Vaccines (**PV**) joint venture of Institut Pasteurand
                     Institut Mérieux (**IMER**); became Pasteur Mérieux
                     Connaught (**PMC**) subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc, then
                     Aventis Pasteur (**AVP**)\]

  **PRFB**           Groupe Pierre Fabre: Centre d\'Immunologie Pierre Fabre

  **PRX**            Praxis Biologics \[absorbed into Wyeth (**WYE**)\]

  **PTE**            Peptide Therapeutics Group, plc

  **PTM**            Pitman-Moore, Inc., Pitman-Moore Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.
                     \[inactive; absorbed into International Minerals and
                     Chemical Corporation\]

  **PV**             Pasteur Vaccins \[inactive; joint venture of Institut
                     Pasteurand Institut Mérieux (**IMER**); later became Pasteur
                     Mérieux Sérums et Vaccins (**PMSV**), then Pasteur Mérieux
                     Connaught (**PMC**) subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc, then
                     Aventis Pasteur (**AVP**)\]

  **QUA**            Quad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. \[inactive\] \[absorbed into Par
                     Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pharmaceutical Resources, Inc.\]

  **RIT**            Recherche et Industrie Thérapeutiques \[inactive; antecedent
                     company of GlaxoSmithKline (**GSK**)\]

  **RIVM**           Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu \[National
                     Institute of Public Health and the Environment\] (as of
                     2003, vaccine activities reorganized into the Stichting ter
                     bevordering van de Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiëne
                     (**SVM**) \[Foundation for the Promotion of Public Health
                     and Environmental Hygiene\] and the Netherlands Vaccine
                     Institute (**NVI**)

  **SAN**            Sandoz \[inactive, see Novartis (**NOV**)\]

  **SBB**            SmithKline Beecham Biologicals \[component of former
                     SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals (**SB**); merged into
                     GlaxoSmithKline; see **GSK**\]

  **SBL**            SBL Vaccin AB (Sweden) \[absorbed into PowderJect
                     Pharmaceuticals plc (**PJP**)\]

  **SCHR**           Schering AG (Germany)

  **SCL**            Sclavo, S.p.A \[vaccine business absorbed into former
                     Biocine joint venture of Chiron and Ciba-Geigy, and later
                     into Chiron Corporation (**CHIR**)\]

  **SGP**            Schering-Plough Corporation (USA)

  **SHP**            Shire Biologics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shire
                     Pharmaceuticals Group plc \[absorbed BioChem Pharma
                     (**BCH**) through merger\]

  **SII**            Serum Institute of India, Ltd.

  **SKB**            SmithKline Beecham \[abbreviation and/or name superseded;
                     see **SBB**\]

  **SOL**            Solvay Pharmaceuticals \[influenza product\] \[successor
                     company to Philips Roxane, Inc. (**PHR**)\]

  **SSB**            StressGen Biotechnologies Corporation

  **SSI**            Statens Serum Institut(Denmark)

  **SSV**            Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute (Berne, Switzerland)
                     \[abbreviation and/or name superseded; see **BER**\]

  **SVM**            Stichting ter bevordering van de Volksgezondheid en
                     Milieuhygiëne (Foundation for the Promotion of Public Health
                     and Environmental Hygiene, the Netherlands; see **RIVM**and
                     **NVI**\]

  **TDH**            Texas Department of Health Resources \[inactive\]

  **TOR**            Torlak Immunology and Virology Institute(Serbia)

  **TRGN**           Transgene S.A.

  **TSI-GSD**        The Salk Institute - Government Services Division
                     \[inactive; formerly a division of [[The Salk Institute for
                     Biological Studies;]{.underline}](http://www.salk.edu/)
                     absorbed into Aventis Pasteur, Inc. (**AVP**)\]

  **UIL**            University of Illinois \[inactive\]

  **ULEI**           [[Universiteit
                     Leiden]{.underline}](http://www.leidenuniv.nl/)

  **UQU**            University of Queensland

  **USA**            [[United States Army Medical Research and Materiel
                     Command]{.underline}](https://mrmc.amedd.army.mil/)

  **VHL**            Virax Holdings Limited

  **VXGN**           VaxGen, Inc.

  **WA**             Wyeth-Ayerst \[abbreviation/name superseded; see **WYE**\]

  **WAL**            Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories \[abbreviation/name superseded;
                     see **WYE**\]

  **WEL**            Wellcome; Burroughs Wellcome; Wellcome plc \[inactive\]
                     \[merged into Glaxo Wellcome, but its vaccine business
                     acquired by Evans Medical, Ltd. (**EVN**)\]

  **WIS**            [[The Wistar
                     Institute]{.underline}](http://www.wistar.upenn.edu/)
                     (University of Pennsylvania)

  **WLV**            Wyeth-Lederle Vaccines (and Pediatrics) \[abbreviation/name
                     superseded; see **WYE**\]

  **WYE**            Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, division of Wyeth \[renamed from
                     American Home Products, encompassing former Wyeth-Ayerst
                     Laboratories (**WAL**); Wyeth-Ayerst (**WA**), Wyeth-Lederle
                     Vaccines (and Pediatrics) (**WLV**), Wyeth Laboratories,
                     Inc. (**WYL**), Lederle Laboratories Division American
                     Cyanamid Company (**LED**), and Praxis Biologics (**PRX**)\]

  **WYL**            Wyeth Laboratories, Inc. \[abbreviation/name superseded; see
                     **WYE**\]
  ------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------