Panel 47. This image shows the subviral envelope particles of HBV (small spheres and filaments) constituting the early hepatitis B vaccine. This first-generation vaccine, developed by Philippe Maupas and his team in Tours, was made by the purification of the suviral envelope particles from the blood of HBV chronic carriers. This preparation shows that the virus was efficiently eliminated and that the vaccine only contained subviral particles, mainly spherical particles and a few filaments. In the mid-1980s, this vaccine was gradually replaced by second-generation vaccines, produced by genetic engineering. Indeed, the bioproduction of the HBV envelope protein by cultured cells allows the generation of excess envelope particles that can be easily purified and serve the same role as a vaccine. This “recombinant” vaccine, obtained by genetic engineering, was easier to produce and has therefore replaced the “plasma” vaccine. However, the first-generation vaccine had the merit of establishing the proof of concept of a safe and extremely effective vaccine.