Excerpt
The new BioCina vaccine is being manufactured in an Adelaide facility purchased by the Bridgewest group in 2020 from Pfizer, maker of a successful Covid-19 vaccine – though Pfizer’s vaccine targets only the original strain of the disease.
Article Summary
The vaccine is claimed to be easily adapted to new variants of Covid-19, making a significant boost to Australia’s sovereign medical manufacturing capabilities.
Research in developing the vaccine was undertaken at the University of Adelaide and Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The news of the trial comes only a week after BioCina announced it has expanded its CDMO service offering to include the manufacture of plasmid DNA (pDNA) in a new dedicated GMP suite.
The suite is equipped with up to 300 litre single use fermentation capacity and suitably scaled downstream processing equipment.
To complement GMP manufacturing, a broad range of analytical methods have been developed to support in-process, release and stability testing of pDNA products.
The company said this is a ‘very important and timely additio’n that will best enable BioCina to work with its industry partners to further develop RNA vaccines and therapeutics as well as cell and gene therapies.
BioCina CEO Ian Wisenberg said: “The addition of GMP pDNA services is a natural extension of our existing traditional biologics offering and provides another avenue for growth by supporting the development and manufacturing of these innovative vaccines and therapies.”
About BioCina
BioCina is an Australian CDMO with a facility in Adelaide invested by the Bridgwest Group. With customized services, BioCina has performed multiple technology transfers, and developed unique solutions to address technical issues for customers’ programs. BioCina provides microbial process development and manufacturing solutions to customers worldwide.
(Source: Au Manufacturing, 22 June 2022)
