Global Institute simplifies vaccine manufacturing for developing world

The concentration of biomanufacturing expertise in industrial nations left low- and middle-income countries with few ways to obtain the COVID-19 vaccines when they became available. That limited availability (combined with vaccine hesitancy) has resulted in vaccination rates that are still below 20% in low-income countries. The Access to Advanced Health Institute (AAHI) seeks to improve the situation by simplifying the manufacturing process for RNA and other types of vaccines. As Christopher Fox, PhD, SVP of formulations for AAHI, says, three of the greatest challenges are use of unsustainable natural materials, complex manufacturing processes, and cold chain infrastructure requirements. To address these concerns, AAHI is advancing several approaches. One is dose scaling. “We’ve reengineered the vaccine formulation manufacturing process to make it simpler and more efficient. Then, using standard excipients, we can make a more concentrated formulation and go from making five thousand doses per day to five million doses per day, while...