In 1981, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a plasma-derived hepatitis B vaccine for human use. This ‘inactivated’ type of vaccine involved the collection of blood from hepatitis B virus-infected (HBsAg-positive) donors.

Merck Pharmaceuticals manufactured this plasma vaccine as “Heptavax,” which was the first commercial hepatitis B virus vaccine. The use of this vaccine was discontinued in 1990 and it is no longer available in the U.S.