Abstract:To overcome pandemics, such as COVID-19, vaccines are urgently needed at very high volumes. Here we assess the techno-economic feasibility of producing RNA vaccines for the demand associated with a global vaccination campaign. Production process performance is assessed for three messenger RNA (mRNA) and one self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines, all currently under clinical development, as well as for a hypothetical next-generation saRNA vaccine. The impact of key process design and operation uncertainties on t… Show more
“…Preclinical in vitro research on the influenza A virus showed the advantage of optimizing the mRNA sequence with a view to new strain outbreaks [ 100 ], which is also applicable to SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the strengths of this type of vaccine platform include the fact that it is easily scalable and its low cost of production, making it possible for the supply to meet the demand derived from the pandemic situation [ 101 ]. Additionally, mRNA technology is also being studied for expressing monoclonal antibodies for passive immunotherapy [ 102 ] that could be used in patients with severe clinical manifestations.…”
Section: Vaccines In Clinical Developmentmentioning
Since the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was declared a year ago, the search for vaccines has become the top priority in order to restore normalcy after 2.5 million deaths worldwide, overloaded sanitary systems, and a huge economic burden. Vaccine development has represented a step towards the desired herd immunity in a short period of time, owing to a high level of investment, the focus of researchers, and the urge for the authorization of the faster administration of vaccines. Nevertheless, this objective may only be achieved by pursuing effective strategies and policies in various countries worldwide. In the present review, some aspects involved in accomplishing a successful vaccination program are addressed, in addition to the importance of vaccination in a pandemic in the face of unwillingness, conspiracy theories, or a lack of information among the public. Moreover, we provide some updated points related to the landscape of the clinical development of vaccine candidates, specifically, the top five vaccines that are already being assessed in Phase IV clinical trials (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, AZD1222, Ad26.COV2.S, and CoronaVac).
“…Preclinical in vitro research on the influenza A virus showed the advantage of optimizing the mRNA sequence with a view to new strain outbreaks [ 100 ], which is also applicable to SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the strengths of this type of vaccine platform include the fact that it is easily scalable and its low cost of production, making it possible for the supply to meet the demand derived from the pandemic situation [ 101 ]. Additionally, mRNA technology is also being studied for expressing monoclonal antibodies for passive immunotherapy [ 102 ] that could be used in patients with severe clinical manifestations.…”
Section: Vaccines In Clinical Developmentmentioning
Since the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was declared a year ago, the search for vaccines has become the top priority in order to restore normalcy after 2.5 million deaths worldwide, overloaded sanitary systems, and a huge economic burden. Vaccine development has represented a step towards the desired herd immunity in a short period of time, owing to a high level of investment, the focus of researchers, and the urge for the authorization of the faster administration of vaccines. Nevertheless, this objective may only be achieved by pursuing effective strategies and policies in various countries worldwide. In the present review, some aspects involved in accomplishing a successful vaccination program are addressed, in addition to the importance of vaccination in a pandemic in the face of unwillingness, conspiracy theories, or a lack of information among the public. Moreover, we provide some updated points related to the landscape of the clinical development of vaccine candidates, specifically, the top five vaccines that are already being assessed in Phase IV clinical trials (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, AZD1222, Ad26.COV2.S, and CoronaVac).
“…Based on the study by Kis [ 92 ], 230,700 kWh of power/y is required to support the production of 69,020 g vaccine/y. The global demand for RNA vaccine was predicted as 1.56 × 10 10 doses, containing 0.1 μg saRNA - 100 μg mRNA/dose [ 93 ]. Fig.…”
The COVID-19 pandemic developed the severest public health event in recent history. The first stage for defence has already been documented. This paper moves forward to contribute to the second stage for offensive by assessing the energy and environmental impacts related to vaccination. The vaccination campaign is a multidisciplinary topic incorporating policies, population behaviour, planning, manufacturing, materials supporting, cold-chain logistics and waste treatment. The vaccination for pandemic control in the current phase is prioritised over other decisions, including energy and environmental issues. This study documents that vaccination should be implemented in maximum sustainable ways. The energy and related emissions of a single vaccination are not massive; however, the vast numbers related to the worldwide production, logistics, disinfection, implementation and waste treatment are reaching significant figures. The preliminary assessment indicates that the energy is at the scale of ~1.08 × 10
10
kWh and related emissions of ~5.13 × 10
12
gCO
2eq
when embedding for the envisaged 1.56 × 10
10
vaccine doses. The cold supply chain is estimated to constitute 69.8% of energy consumption of the vaccination life cycle, with an interval of 26–99% depending on haul distance. A sustainable supply chain model that responds to an emergency arrangement, considering equality as well, should be emphasised to mitigate vaccination's environmental footprint. This effort plays a critical role in preparing for future pandemics, both environmentally and socially. Research in exploring sustainable single-use or reusable materials is also suggested to be a part of the plans. Diversified options could offer higher flexibility in mitigating environmental footprint even during the emergency and minimise the potential impact of material disruption or dependency.
“…The mRNA-LNP platform has several advantages over other vaccination strategies; it can be repeatedly administered without inducing immunologic memory to the delivery vector, has no chance of incorporating into potential oncogenic sites within the genome, is relatively inexpensive to synthesize large quantities compared to recombinant protein production, and can be easily scaled from production in small laboratories to manufacturing facilities for vaccination campaigns [15,16]. The mRNA included in the vaccine formulation is in vitro synthesized to mimic the host mRNA in order to increase mRNA stability and translation efficiency.…”
Section: Rna Vaccine Overviewmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Reviews which highlight and discuss existing vaccines against specific flaviviruses can be found here; YFV [4], JEV [9], TBEV [10], WNV [11], DENV [12,13], and ZIKV [14]. Reviews which discuss considerations for commercialization and large-scale production of mRNA vaccines can be found here [15,16].…”
Numerous vaccines have now been developed using the mRNA platform. In this approach, mRNA coding for a viral antigen is in vitro synthesized and injected into the host leading to exogenous protein expression and robust immune responses. Vaccines can be rapidly developed utilizing the mRNA platform in the face of emerging pandemics. Additionally, the mRNA coding region can be easily manipulated to test novel hypotheses in order to combat viral infections which have remained refractory to traditional vaccine approaches. Flaviviruses are a diverse family of viruses that cause widespread disease and have pandemic potential. In this review, we discuss the mRNA vaccines which have been developed against diverse flaviviruses.
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