In the large-scale production of rabies vaccine a cell stock comprising a VERO cell strain and a liquid nutritive medium containing serum and microcarriers suspended therein is successively passed into biogenerators of increasing volume. The last of the passages is carried out in a biogenerator having a volume of at least 150 liters. The liquid nutritive medium is drawn off at the end of the final passage and replaced with a serum-free liquid nutritive medium. The cell stock is inoculated in the last passage biogenerator with virus which is allowed to develop. The virus is then cultured, withdrawn and filtered. The filtered liquid suspension is then ultrafiltered, with inactivated beta-propiolactone and purified by zonal centrifugation or chromatography.