Vaccines help prevent infection bypreparing the body to fight foreign invaders (such as bacteria, viruses, orother pathogens). All vaccines introduce into the body a harmless piece of aparticular bacteria or virus, triggering an immune response. Most vaccinescontain a weakened or dead bacteria or virus. However, scientists havedeveloped a new type of vaccine that uses a molecule called messenger RNA(mRNA) rather than part of an actual bacteria or virus.
In cells, mRNA uses the information ingenes to create a blueprint for making proteins. Once cells finish making aprotein, they quickly break down the mRNA. mRNA from vaccines does not enterthe nucleus and does not alter DNA.
The rollout of Gemcovac-19, the firsthome-grown mRNA vaccine against Covid-19 in India and the third in the world,will kick off in the domestic and international markets soon.
It has been approved for emergency use bythe Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on Tuesday. The vaccine can be usedfor people who are 18 years and above. The vaccine has been developed by aPune-based drugs manufacturer, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals.
As the Covid-19 pandemic spread, an mRNAvaccine candidate was the first to enter human trials globally. The first twovaccines that were made available for use in the US were based on mRNAtechnology.
Unlike vaccines that put a weakened orinactivated virus in your body to activate an immune response, these twoCovid-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) used messenger RNA or mRNA todeliver a message to your immune system, The Indian Express reported.
Basically, the technology uses geneticallyengineered mRNA to instruct cells to make the S-protein found on the surface ofthe Covid-19 virus. According to reports from US-based Mayo Clinic, aftervaccination, the muscle cells begin making S-protein pieces and displaying themon cell surfaces. This causes the body to create antibodies.
¡°Unlike in the West, where the vaccine hasto be stored at sub-zero temperatures, the challenge in India was to be able tostore the vaccine between 2-8 degree Celsius. We had to innovate to suit our localneeds as to what is affordable and deployable. GEMCOVAC-19 can now be stored atthe temperature of a standard medical refrigerator,¡± Dr Sanjay Singh, CEO ofGennova Biopharmaceuticals told The Indian Express.
The conversion from liquid to powder formof the vaccine takes place via Lyophilisation ¡ª this is freeze-drying, aprocess where the water is removed from the product after it is frozen andplaced under a vacuum allowing the ice to change directly from solid to vaporwithout passing through a liquid phase.
However, just removing water byLyophilisation of the mRNA vaccine does not work. So, the surrounding pressurehas to be tweaked and then kept stable to ensure the characteristics of thevaccine are the same as before Lyophilisation. For this to be achieved, the keywas to add an external agent which at a certain critical concentration keeps itstable under lyophilized conditions. The Lyophilisation technology is not new,but a lyophilized mRNA vaccine is unique.
¡°We performed hundreds of trials beforearriving at the right formulation and right condition to ensure a heat-stablemRNA vaccine,¡± Dr Singh said.
For the first time, the mRNA platform hasbeen used to develop a Covid-19 vaccine in India. This total process may havetaken one-and-a-half years, but for Dr. Singh, a biochemist who had worked onmalaria vaccines at the US-based National Institutes of Health, and the team,designing an mRNA vaccine against the Omicron variant barely took 60 days.
Notably, this technology platform providesflexibility to quickly tweak the vaccine for any existing or emerging variantsof the virus.
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