SCALING-UP THE COVID-19 mRNA VACCINE

Abstract

Project Goal: Develop and scale-up a mRNA vaccine production process for the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. The use of mRNA technology is quickly becoming the forefront method to protect individuals against biological threats such as viruses. The team based the mRNA vaccine production process on Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine formulation. This project presents a model for a vaccine production process capable of producing 600 million vaccine doses annually. The process design involves a combination of both bioreactors and filtration systems in parallel and series to safely scale-up the high throughput mRNA vaccine formulation. The team researched safety mechanisms that could be applied to the process design to ensure quality control and consistency between batches. The two major reactions: T7 RNA polymerase reaction and DNase 1 reaction yield the mRNA product and were closely monitored using process control techniques. The filtration sequence was engineered to maximize purification of mRNA, while minimizing product loss. Material and energy considerations were analyzed for the overall system to reduce operating costs and maximize the purified mRNA product.