Represents commitment to global efforts against COVID-19 with optimized mRNA production using proprietary chromatographic columns and process

BioNet, a leading biotech company manufacturing genetically engineered vaccines, and BIA Separations, now part of Sartorius, a leading biochromatography development and manufacturing company, today announced the successful development of an optimized mRNA manufacturing process.

BIA’s expertise in chromatographic columns for mRNA purification combined with BioNet’s expertise in the product development of genetic vaccines have, since early 2021, enabled both teams to collaborate on the optimization and upscale of a high-yield mRNA production process.

The new process has been successfully applied to the production of mRNA in the fight against COVID-19. The mRNA vaccine, produced at BioNet’s manufacturing facility, was developed by Chula Vaccine Research Center, Thailand in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, US.

Both BIA and BioNet are now collaborating on other projects aiming to increase development capabilities and production capacity of nucleic acid vaccines in Europe, Australia, and low-middle income countries.

Hong Thai Pham, CEO, BioNet commented: “We are very pleased to be collaborating with BIA Separations / Sartorius in developing and tech-transferring optimized mRNA vaccine manufacturing processes. When time is of the essence, it is crucial to be able to rely on key partners whilst maintaining the highest level of quality in every aspect of our work. We are also very proud that our team was able to produce two kinds of genetic vaccines (DNA and mRNA) and we look forward to expanding our partnership with the BIA Separations’ team on future projects.”

Aleš Štrancar, Managing Director, BIA Separations added: “We are proud to have been selected to support BioNet’s development strategy and it was a great pleasure to work on their plans to develop an mRNA process. Due to Covid restrictions all the work and tech transfer has been coordinated via teleconferences in the absence of physical meetings and training. Despite this, the manufacturing process was developed in just four months which is close to a miracle. This would not have been possible without BioNet’s highly experienced and motivated team. In addition, a special appreciation to our own teams which were, once again, able to develop the manufacturing process in record time”.

About BioNet

BioNet is a French-Thai fully-integrated company focusing on the development, manufacturing and supply of genetically-engineered vaccines against re-emerging and pandemic diseases. BioNet is manufacturing the world’s only available recombinant pertussis vaccines containing a genetically engineered pertussis toxin (Pertagen®, Boostagen® and BoostagenRED). BioNet has been developing genetic vaccines against SARS-CoV2 using DNA and mRNA technology platforms. The DNA vaccine (Covigen) is being evaluated in clinical trial in Australia while the mRNA vaccine (ChulaCov19) is expected to enter phase 2/3 trials soon.

About BIA Separations

BIA Separations, now part of  Sartorius, is the leading developer and manufacturer of CIM® (Convective Interaction Media) monolithic chromatographic columns for production, purification, and analytics of large biomolecules such as viruses, plasmids and mRNA, which are applied in cell and gene therapies.

BIA's technology for manufacturing-scale purification is already used in production of the first commercialized advanced therapeutics; BIA also has a keen presence with novel drug candidates in the clinical pipeline.

BIA Separations’ mission is to develop and produce CIM® monolithic columns of highest quality and provide superior research and method development services for purification and analytics of biomolecules. In addition, the company aims to provide unique in-process control tools to speed up process development and better understand and control the bioprocesses.