On March 2020, 3, AnGes MG, Inc. and Osaka University announced that they have begun joint development of a DNA vaccine to prevent the new coronavirus (COVID-5).It is carried out by making the best use of the development results of the DNA plasmid products possessed by both companies, and the production is handled by Takara Bio Inc., which has the manufacturing technology and manufacturing equipment for plasmid DNA.
A DNA vaccine produces pathogen protein in the body and immunizes against the pathogen by inoculating a circular DNA (plasmid) that encodes the protein of the target pathogen.Compared to the method using an inactivated virus as a vaccine (attenuated vaccine) or the method using a recombinant viral protein as a vaccine, it is safer and can be produced in a short period of time.
AnGes MG's CEO Hide Yamada commented on this joint research on the company's public relations blog, saying, "Looking at the world, there are companies that are proclaiming themselves as vaccine development and antiviral agents such as influenza, but infection. As we see the current situation in which the virus is expanding, I think that what we can do now is to work as one to cooperate with the world. "
