SYSBIOTECH has been cooperating with leading vaccine manufacturers in different countries for many years and is ready to discuss and develop new solutions, including equipment for the vaccine against COVID-2019.
Many modern vaccines, including rabies and rotavirus vaccines, are produced on cell cultures in bioreactors.
The following process chain is typical for this method of vaccine production (Fig. 1):
Let us describe in more detail how each type of equipment is used.
If you have any questions about vaccine equipment, do not hesitate to ask us:
The genetic sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus causing the COVID-19 disease was published on January 11, 2020, which triggered intensive global research efforts to develop a vaccine against this disease. The magnitude of the humanitarian and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic stimulates the development of various vaccine manufacturing technologies, and the first candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine entered clinical trials in humans at unprecedented speed on March 16, 2020.
The vaccine development landscape database includes vaccine development programs presented on WHO’s reputable and constantly updated list, as well as other projects from public and private sources.
The landscape provides an overview of the key characteristics of the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines.
As of April 8, 2020, the global COVID-19 vaccine research and development landscape includes 115 candidates (Figure 2), of which 78 are confirmed as active and 37 are not. Of the 78 confirmed active projects, 73 are currently at the research or preclinical stage. The most advanced candidates have recently gone into clinical development, including Moderna mRNA-1273, CanSino Biologicals Ad5-nCoV, Inovio INO-4800, LV-SMENP-DC and pathogen-specific artificial antigen-presenting cells from the Shenzhen Genoimmune Medical Institute (Table 1). Many other vaccine developers have announced plans to begin testing in humans in 2020.
Table 1. Candidates for the role of the vaccine against COVID-19 in the phase of clinical trials
| Candidate | Characteristics | Leading manufacturer | Status |
| mRNA-1273 | mRNA vaccine encoding protein S encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles | Moderna | Phase I (NCT04283461) |
| Ad5-nCoV | Type-5 adenovirus vector that expresses protein S | CanSino Biologicals | Phase I (NCT04313127) |
| INO-4800 | DNA-plasmid encoding protein S; delivered by electroporation | Inovio | Phase I (NCT04336410) |
| LV-SMENP-DC | Dendritic cells modified with a lentiviral vector expressing a synthetic minigen based on selected viral proteins domains; introduced into the body with antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes | Shenzhen Genoimmune Medical Institute | Phase I (NCT04276896) |
| Pathogen-specific artificial antigen-presenting cells | Artificial antigen-presenting cells modified with a lentiviral vector expressing a synthetic minigen based on the domains of selected viral proteins | Shenzhen Genoimmune Medical Institute | Phase I (NCT04299724) |
Vaccine Developers Profile
Of the confirmed active candidates for vaccines, 56 (72%) are developed by private developers, and the remaining 22 (28%) of projectы are carried out by academic, state and other non-profit organizations (Fig. 3). While a number of large multinational vaccine developers (such as Janssen, Sanofi, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline) have been involved in the development of the COVID-19 vaccine, many of the leading developers are small and/or inexperienced in large-scale vaccine production. Thus, it will be important to coordinate the production and supply of the vaccine to meet the demand.
Much of the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is being done in North America: 36 (46%) of the developers of confirmed active candidate vaccines are located there. Compare with other regions: 14 (18%) in China, 14 (18%) in Asia (excluding China) and Australia, and 14 (18%) in Europe (Fig. 3).
16 Apr 2020
