Adenoviral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines: Process and Cost Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has motivated the rapid development of numerous vaccines that have proven effective against SARS-CoV-2. Several of these successful vaccines are based on the adenoviral vector platform. The mass manufacturing of these vaccines poses great challenges, especially in the context o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inProcesses Vol. 9; no. 8; p. 1430
Main Authors Ferreira, Rafael G., Gordon, Neal F., Stock, Rick, Petrides, Demetri
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.08.2021
Subjects
Adenoviruses
Antigens
Batch processes
Cell culture
Coronaviruses
Cost analysis
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Design
Dosage
Economic analysis
Genes
Genetic engineering
Immune system
Immunology
Operating costs
Pandemics
Pathogens
Peptides
Perfusion
Proteins
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Stainless steels
Vaccines
Vectors (Biology)
Viral diseases
Viruses
United States > US
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Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic has motivated the rapid development of numerous vaccines that have proven effective against SARS-CoV-2. Several of these successful vaccines are based on the adenoviral vector platform. The mass manufacturing of these vaccines poses great challenges, especially in the context of a pandemic where extremely large quantities must be produced quickly at an affordable cost. In this work, two baseline processes for the production of a COVID-19 adenoviral vector vaccine, B1 and P1, were designed, simulated and economically evaluated with the aid of the software SuperPro Designer. B1 used a batch cell culture viral production step, with a viral titer of 5 × 1010 viral particles (VP)/mL in both stainless-steel and disposable equipment. P1 used a perfusion cell culture viral production step, with a viral titer of 1 × 1012 VP/mL in exclusively disposable equipment. Both processes were sized to produce 400 M/yr vaccine doses. P1 led to a smaller cost per dose than B1 ($0.15 vs. $0.23) and required a much smaller capital investment ($126 M vs. $299 M). The media and facility-dependent expenses were found to be the main contributors to the operating cost. The results indicate that adenoviral vector vaccines can be practically manufactured at large scale and low cost.
ISSN:2227-9717
2227-9717
DOI:10.3390/pr9081430