Scientists at the University of Nottingham are scaling up the development of a new Zika virus DNA vaccine thanks to a new collaboration with specialist company Touchlight, which will provide new technology to produce large quantities of the DNA vaccine at speed.
Touchlight, an innovation-driven contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) specialising in enzymatic DNA production, will supply its proprietary doggybone DNA (dbDNA) to the University of Nottingham for research and development of a next-generation DNA vaccine targeting the Zika virus. Shown above is a digitally-colorised transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of Zika virus.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham are leading the development of a Zika virus DNA vaccine that can be manufactured within weeks and safely deployed globally in future epidemics. Dr James Dixon in the School of Pharmacy and Professor Janet Daly, Director of the University of Nottingham’s Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research, are leading the programme.
Many DNA vaccines in development have performed poorly when delivered using a traditional needle and syringe and instead require expensive devices to deliver the vaccine through the skin. The Nottingham team has developed a solution to this problem by developing a proprietary DNA formulation so it can be given by a simple injection. The project will involve the use of synthetic manufacture of the vaccine rather than bacterial fermentation, cutting the development time from six months to just six weeks.
Touchlight’s enzymatic dbDNA technology represents a breakthrough in DNA production and offers a rapid, efficient and scalable method ideal for vaccine development. dbDNA offers the potential to reduce dose, eliminate antibiotic resistance and provide a solution for low cost, stable vaccines for the developing world. Touchlight will provide GMP dbDNA material for the clinical study.
Further advantages of DNA vaccines are that they can be produced rapidly and cheaply and do not require cold-chain storage unlike mRNA vaccines. This makes DNA vaccines ideal for responding to future disease outbreaks, especially in less economically developed regions.
This innovative project is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) as part of the UK Vaccine Network, a UK aid programme dedicated to developing vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle-income countries.
Dr James Dixon commented: “The Touchlight technology has enabled us to make rapid progress and will make it possible to produce large quantities of the DNA vaccine at speed. This is vital in pandemic prevention and the deployment of vaccines in the developing world and globally. It will be hugely exciting to complete the pre-clinical trials and take us into the final stages with clinical trials and seeing real-world impact.”