The invention relates to the development of a preparation process for an inactivated SARS-CoV-2-based vaccine, in which the inactivation phase of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is performed by applying high hydrostatic pressures (HPP).
| Patent title | Method for preparing an inactivated virus and an antiviral vaccine based on an inactivated virus |
|---|---|
| Thematic area | Bioeconomy, Agriculture and Environment |
| Ownership | ALMA MATER STUDIORUM - UNIVERSITA' DI BOLOGNA, HONEY DATA Soc. Semplice |
| Inventors | Francesca Taddei, Laura Grumiro, Vittorio Sambri, Pietro Rocculi, Santina Romani, Silvia Tappi |
| Protection | International |
| Licensing status | Available for development agreements, option, license and other exploitation agreements |
| Keywords | SARS-CoV-2; high hydrostatic pressures; inactivation; hyperbaric treatment; loss of infectious capacity; vaccine; HPP |
| Filed on | 22 June 2022 |
Nowadays, there are different types of anti SARS-CoV-2 vaccine including chemically or thermally inactivated virus vaccines which are unable to cause the disease but are still able to induce immune responses similar to those induced from the natural infection.
However, these known methods for the inactivation of viruses can cause alterations in the protein structure of the virus itself, inducing an immune response that is inadequate for immune coverage against the virus.
The object of the invention is the inactivating method which allows to obtain a preparation with the functionality of an anti-coronavirus vaccine based on an inactivated virus, obtained by applying specific pressure values to the SARS-CoV-2 virus for certain exposure times and temperatures. These treatments cause the loss of the viral ability to replicate itself but without affecting alterations in the antigenic structure of the virus.
The main application of the HPP system inactivated viral preparation would be its use as a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and, more generally, against the coronavirus family and potentially also other types of viruses.
The advantages are:
- extremely short times of production;
- very low mass production costs;
- vaccine efficacy independent of the genetic variant of the virus;
- storage temperature between 0 ° and 4 ° C;
- extremely simple methodology, compared to the current techniques used;
- greater confidence in the vaccine than those obtained with other techniques (in particular those that involve operations of "genetic engineering").