Two core pieces of Modified Ankara Vaccine (MVA) virus were delivered on Monday, September 5, at the Vaccine Technology Center (CT Vacinas) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The biological material arrived in Brazil on Friday, 2, at the Confines airport, in Minas Gerais. This action is supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI) through the RedeVírus MCTI. This is the first step for Brazil to be able to start research to produce an anti-smallpox vaccine in the national territory, which works against monkeypox.
CT Vacinas is in the process of becoming the National Center for Technologies in Vaccines (MCTI), resulting from an agreement signed in 2021 between the portfolio and UFMG. This action will expand the Brazilian capacity in developing the vaccine.
The biological material was donated by the National Institutes of Health (NHI), a medical research agency in the United States, to CT Vacinas at UFMG through a Clinical Material Transfer Agreement (CMTA).
Vaccine virus seeds, as they are technically called, will be used to produce batches of the vaccine for preclinical and clinical testing in Brazil. The steps are part of the vaccine development process. The substance is also a starting point for the national development of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (IFA), which is the raw material for the production of smallpox (monkeypox) vaccines. Clinical studies to be conducted in the country will also contribute to confirming the efficacy of using MVA as a human vaccine virus in the context of a monkeypox outbreak.
CTVacinas will receive a lot and will work in partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), through the Institute of Technology in Immunobiology (Biomanguinhos). Each aliquot contains 0.2 mL of highly purified virus that was produced using good manufacturing and laboratory practices, i.e. it is capable of serving as a basis for the production of material that can be inoculated in humans.
Smallpox researchers responsible for research at the two institutions are part of the MCTI network and will use biological materials to initiate research to evaluate vaccine use against monkeypox virus. Working together includes defining protocols and processes.
The initiative is one of the actions identified as a priority by the Brazilian researchers who are part of the CâmaraPOX MCTI. Formed in May this year, of eight Brazilian researchers specializing in smallpox and other smallpox viruses, the group advises MCTI on the topic in terms of research, development and innovation.
RedeVírus MCTI’s support, through previous funding encouraging research in emerging and regenerating viruses since 2020, has allowed POX Chamber members to create conditions for virus ordering, incorporation, and negotiations for production in Brazil.
smallpox
Smallpox was eradicated from the world in the 1970s through vaccine work coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). At the time, MVA, a type of “cousin” of smallpox, was one of the viruses used in immunization programs. According to experts, few laboratories in the world have this virus, which is the basis of third-generation vaccines.
MVA in Germany was modified by ‘passage’, at least 500 times, in chicken eggs so that it was completely attenuated, that is, it underwent mutations capable of making the virus adapt to its avian host, but rendered it unable to reproduce productively in humans and mammals. other. These changes, when applied to the human body in the form of a vaccine, allow the production of antigens (stimulating an immune response), but are unable to reproduce. It’s the same vaccine principle that uses adenovirus as the basis, and is used to produce vaccines to combat Covid-19.
MCTI Redvirus
RedeVírus MCTI was established in February 2020, even before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The Committee provides technical and scientific advice to MCTI on strategies and needs in the field of science, technology and innovation needed in the field of health. The network is organized into subnets that include test development for diagnosis, sequencing, genetic surveillance, vaccine development, epidemiological monitoring of animals and wastewater.
CT Vaccines
CT-Vaccinas is a biotechnology research center focused on the development of new technologies associated with the production of diagnostic kits and vaccines against human and veterinary diseases. It is also the headquarters of the National Institute of Vaccine Science and Technology.
CT Vacinas conducts research to develop vaccines against diseases such as leishmaniasis, malaria, Chagas disease and Covid-19. The Covid-19 vaccine, SpiN-Tec, which has received funding from MCTI, is awaiting permission from the Brazilian regulator to begin clinical trials. The malaria vaccine, also backed by MCTI, is awaiting safety tests, one of the last prerequisites before clinical trials.
Photo: Raphaella Dias | UFMG
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