The outbreak of COVID-19 has taught an important lesson to the whole world that it is crucial to have the ability to produce medicines at a large scale so that we have the availability of life-saving doses when and where we need them. Now, to improve this ability further, researchers have discovered a way through which the production of protein-based vaccines can be increased by five folds. This is a groundbreaking development for Vaccine Market as it could potentially broaden access to life-saving medicines, which is essential, especially in these testing times.
Earlier in the year, the team invented a new biomanufacturing platform that can produce shelf vaccines at the point of care while bearing the responsibility of not letting them go to waste for slight errors in storage and transportation. Taking their research a big step ahead, now researchers have found an enriching cell-free cellular membrane (components used to make conjugate vaccines) that could vastly increase yields of its freeze–dried platforms.
The foundational work of the team has benefited them in rapidly manufacture medicines that fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and several new viruses. The count stands at 40,000 per dose per liter per day, estimated at around $1 per dose. If the rate is consistent, researchers could use a 1,000-liter reactor to produce 40 Million doses a day, which would mean about a Billion doses a month.
Cell-free synthetic biology (a process through which the cell’s outer wall is removed and its internal machinery is reorganized) has helped in the development of a new manufacturing platform, referred to as iVAX (Vitro Conjugate Vaccine Expression) platform. The repurposed machinery from the cell is put by researchers into a test tube to dry-freeze it. When water is added to the tube, it sets off a chemical reaction, activating the cell-free system and turning it into a catalyst that is suitable for making medicine. The platform remains shelf-stable for six months or longer and then eliminates the complicated supply chains and high refrigeration, thus, being a powerful tool for remote or low-resource places.
The team found that cell membrane is the essential way to reach their objective of increasing production. When they broke it apart, the membrane reassembled into vesicles all by itself, making spherical structures that could carry important data. These vessels were characterized, and it was found that increased vesicle concentration could effectively be used for making components for protein therapeutics. This new work is set to completely transform the way vaccines would be made, and this would also positively affect the bio-readiness and pandemic response of our medical sector, helping medical personnel fight against such viruses in a better way.