Optimising vaccines for epidemics through gene editing in Vero cells
THE QUESTION
How can the manufacturing of viral vector-based vaccines be optimised for production in Africa?
LOCATION: Senegal
SECTOR: Health
TECH: Bioengineering
TIMELINE: September 2023 - Present
PIONEER: Cathy Roth & Dr. Claire O’Neill
PARTNERS: Institut Pasteur de Dakar
The Challenge
There is a global need to improve and accelerate epidemic/pandemic preparedness and control, as well as bolstering routine immunisation. Increasing the speed, efficiency and overall cost of vaccine manufacturing can enable more people to benefit from a protective vaccine within a shorter period of time.
For example, measles is an infectious disease that spreads easily and can be very damaging for children and young adults, specifically in populations with poor nutrition and health problems. As measles is highly infectious, to stop the spread there needs to be high vaccination coverage. Coverage is declining in many countries, due a range of factors including cost and availability. Some alliances, such as GAVI, are trying to combat this challenge but there is still a need to develop vaccines in a timely and cost-effective manner that is close to the population who needs it.
The Idea
Viral vector-based vaccines are designed by using harmless viruses to deliver antigens of potentially harmful pathogens. Viral-vector based vaccines mimic natural infection and allow the host to develop a robust immune response prior to a future exposure to the harmful pathogen. Producing the vaccines at scale can be challenging and this pilot aims to examine how the viral vaccine production process can be accelerated by optimising the cellular metabolic state needed to support maximum productivity. Specifically, recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) will be used to express foreign antigens within altered Vero cells. These cells will have been bio-engineered by knocking out antiviral genes that are not essential for Vero cell viability but permit rVSV to proliferate in a stable environment. These cells will then become "super producers” and will generate two critical benefits for vaccine production: 1) higher yield and 2) lower cost of goods. Both aspects are essential during a public health emergency when the need to generate high volumes of quality-assured products in the shortest time are paramount. Finally, these methods are also easily adjusted to other vaccine targets.
The pilot appears to be the first deployment of this technology in Africa and will focus on outbreak vaccines that are regionally relevant. Finally, there is a platform to integrate any optimisations into the manufacturing facility under construction by the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, which will allow for routine use and impact of the innovation.