1st Apr 2020 10:32
(Alliance News) - British American Tobacco PLC said Wednesday US biotech subsidiary Kentucky BioProcessing is developing a potential vaccine for Covid-19, which is now in pre-clinical testing.
Should testing go well, the London and Johannesburg-listed tobacco firm hopes to manufacture between one and three million doses of the vaccine per week, starting from June.
Kentucky BioProcessing commenced development by cloning part of the Covid-19 genetic sequence which led to the development of a potential antigen, a substance which induces an immune response in the body and in particular, the production of antibodies.
The antigen was then placed into tobacco plants for reproduction, and once the plants were harvested the antigen was then purified, bringing it to pre-clinical testings.
The subsidiary's work on the vaccine is being carried out on a not-for-profit basis.
"We are engaged with the US Food & Drug Administration and are seeking guidance on next steps. We have also engaged with the UK's Department for Health & Social Care, and BARDA in the US, to offer our support and access to our research with the aim of trying to expedite the development of a vaccine for Covid-19," said David O'Reilly, director of Scientific Research at BAT.
"Vaccine development is challenging and complex work, but we believe we have made a significant break-through with our tobacco plant technology platform and stand ready to work with governments and all stakeholders to help win the war against Covid-19. We fully align with the United Nations plea, for a whole-of-society approach to combat global problems," O'Reilly added.
Shares in BAT were down 0.3% at 2,751.0 pence on Wednesday in London, while its Johannesburg shares were 2.0% higher at ZAR610.68.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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