Researchers in the U.S. claim to have developed a less expensive way to produce vaccines that cuts the costs of vaccine production and storage by up to 80% without decreasing safety or effectiveness. Their solution has been to engineer a live-attenuated Zika vaccine in the DNA form. Once the DNA is delivered into the body, it launches the vaccine in cells, leading to antibody production and other protective immunity. With this production method, there is no need to manufacture the vaccine in cell culture or eggs at factories — the traditional approaches to making vaccines. Because DNA molecules are shelf stable, the vaccine will not expire at warm temperatures and could be stockpiled at room temperature for years. Using the Zika vaccine as a model, the research group has shown that the DNA platform worked very efficiently in mice. After a single low dose, the DNA vaccine protected mice from Zika virus infection, mother-to-foetus transmission during pregnancy and male reproductive tract infection and damage. The findings have been published in EBioMedicine .
