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Vaccine

Identification

Standards

Initiative

Manufacturer Abbreviations

(updated 2003-Oct-31)

      The Vaccine Identification Standards Initiative (VISI) proposes the following standardized abbreviations for vaccine and biologics manufacturers and distributors in order to facilitate accuracy, precision, convenience, and consistency, and avoid ambiguity in medical record keeping, written communications, and scientific publications.  For retrospective reference, the listing also includes manufacturers which previously produced vaccines, but which may now be inactive, or have been absorbed or merged into other corporate entities.  When practical, the abbreviation used by a company itself for stock market listing(s) is adopted.

      Vaccine/biologics manufacturers and distributors in either the United States or other countries are invited to communicate to visi@cdc.gov to indicate a correction, preferred change or superseded abbreviation, or to add a new listing for their company or institution.  

      NOTE:  These abbreviations for vaccine manufacturers and distributors should not be confused with "MVX" codes promulgated for the Health Level Seven (HL7) code set.  The MVX ("manufacturers of vaccines") 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, nor for oral or published documents or communications.  The two-letter and three-letter MVX codes generally remain the same even after changes in corporate identities of manufacturers or distributors as a result of mergers, takeovers, spinoffs, and renamings, although the MVX definitions are updated.  For example, Aventis Pasteur remains MVX-coded as "PMC", Bioport as "MIP", GlaxoSmithKline as "SKB", and Wyeth as "WAL".  Further information on HL7 data exchange and the MVX code set is provided by the Immunization Registry Clearinghouse, maintained by the National Immunization Program of CDC. 

 

ABBRE-VIATION 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
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 L.L.C. (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, Vaccines divison, 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
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 privatisation: 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 Institute of 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, 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
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, traqnsferred 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 Pasteur and 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 Pasteur and 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; absorbed into Aventis Pasteur, Inc. (AVP)]
UIL University of Illinois  [inactive]
ULEI Universiteit Leiden 
UQU University of Queensland
USA United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
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 (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]

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