Vaccine partnership results in optimized mRNA process, says BioNet

BioNet’s product development of genetic vaccine know-how integrated with BIA’s chromatographic columns for mRNA purification has produced a high-yield mRNA process, says firm.

BioNet is a French-Thai biotech firm that focuses on manufacturing genetically engineered vaccines and BIA Separations is a biochromatography development and manufacturing company, which Sartorius acquired in October 2020 for $423 million.

The collaboration, which was formed in early 2021, has resulted in what the firms are calling a successful development of an optimized messenger RNA (mRNA) production process.

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Hong Thai Pham, CEO of BioNet told BioProcess Insider the advantages of this process compared to others in the industry is that its “high-yield, reproducible, scalable, and fast.â€

He continued: “The whole process lasts a few days. A one-time plasmid DNA (pDNA) production campaign can be used for producing million doses of purified mRNA.â€

According to both firms, the optimized process has been successfully applied to the manufacture of mRNA in the fight against COVID-19. The mRNA vaccine, Chula-Cov19, which is produced at BioNet’s manufacturing facility in Thailand and developed by the Chula Vaccine Research Center, Thailand in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, US.

Chula-Cov19 is expected to enter Phase II/III trials soon.

Both BioNet and BIA are now working together on other universal coronavirus and pan-COVID-19 vaccine projects aiming to increase development capabilities and production capacity of nucleic acid vaccines in Australia, Europe, and low-middle income countries.