Vaccines against infectious diseases for the developing world are currently manufactured in large, capital intensive factories located in first world countries, and then transported by air under refrigeration to depots closer to the target populations. They are stored under refrigeration or frozen, and then distributed in country with an unreliable cold chain to clinics which, themselves, may be located far from the target populations who have to travel long distances to have their children vaccinated by a small number of trained health workers.
What if the vaccines could be manufactured as needed, nearer to the patient population, in temperature stable form, at lower cost and administered in a way that did not require medically trained staff?
Artificial Cell Technologies has developed a way to achieve this goal: Fully synthetic, temperature stable, highly immunogenic, microparticle vaccines, produced in a small, readily transportable, aseptic closed-loop, computer controlled, manufacturing device which can be housed in a 50’ portable, self-contained cleanroom and staffed by a team of 3 technicians.
These vaccines, produced by electrostatic layer-by-layer deposition of poly amino acids onto a calcium carbonate core, are immunogenic at nanogram doses, do not require exogenous adjuvants, are suitable for microneedle patch delivery, and have not shown any adverse reactions when tested in mice, cotton rats, rabbits and monkeys.
Instead of the 6 months it takes to produce a batch of vaccine in eggs, or the 1 month it takes to produce a batch of vaccine in tobacco plants, it takes 8 hours to produce a batch of vaccine in our system.
Instead of a 300 acre dedicated plant with a staff of hundreds, the same amount of vaccine can be produced by 3 workers in a 10’ by 50’ cleanroom. That cleanroom can be built into a trailer or shipping container that could be transported easily, set up and producing vaccine in a matter of days, or perhaps hours.
Using this technology we are developing vaccines against falciparum malaria and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).