BioSpace: Feasibility study for powder form of Covid vaccine

Biospace cover GreenLight Biosciences and TFF Pharmaceuticals announcement they are to partner on a feasibility study for a powder form of Covid vaccine.

Biospace cover GreenLight Biosciences and TFF Pharmaceuticals announcement they are to partner on a feasibility arrangement for shelf-stable powder form of messenger RNA COVID-19 Vaccine. An extract is below:

Two biotech companies have partnered for feasibility studies aimed at opening broader global vaccine distribution through production of a shelf-stable powder form of messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccine that would be easily reconstituted prior to injection and not require the extreme cold chain of current RNA vaccines.

While messenger RNA Covid-19 vaccines have proved among the fastest to develop, produce and adapt to new variants of concern, maintaining stability has required supply chain temperatures for some vaccines as low as -80°C (-112°F).

This requirement for extreme cold increases distribution complexity, cost and also constrains vaccine distribution to regions and countries with limited cold chain infrastructure.

“We are excited to partner with GreenLight Biosciences on their unique RNA production platform,” said Glenn Mattes, President & CEO of TFF Pharmaceuticals. “Their messenger RNA production platform represents a breakthrough in efficient production of messenger RNA vaccines, and by combining both of our technologies, this collaboration could be a real game changer for people around the world suffering through this pandemic.”

Should the feasibility study prove successful, a further stage of work will include non-needle administration methods for the GreenLight mRNA vaccine candidate in a dry powder form that could be administered via nasal spray or lung inhalation.

“Overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic requires a large volume of second generation vaccines that adapt rapidly and can be delivered to all parts of the world, regardless of local cold chain infrastructure,” said Andrey J. Zarur, Ph.D, CEO of GreenLight Biosciences. “Thin Film Freezing has the potential to deliver on this promise by reformulating the complex messenger RNA molecules of our vaccine candidate into a shelf-stable powder readily reconstituted by a healthcare worker just prior to injection.”

Read the full article here.

Find out more about how GreenLight manufactures RNA here.