Adenoviral Vector COVID-19 Vaccines: Process and Cost Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has motivated the rapid development of numerous vaccines that have proven effective against SARS-CoV-2. Several of these successful vaccines are based on the adenoviral vector platform. The mass manufacturing of these vaccines poses great challenges, especially in the context of a pandemic where extremely large quantities must be produced quickly at an affordable cost. In this work, two baseline processes for the production of a COVID-19 adenoviral vector vaccine, B1 and P1, were designed, simulated and economically evaluated with the aid of the software SuperPro Designer. B1 used a batch cell culture viral production step, with a viral titer of 5 x 10(10) viral particles (VP)/mL in both stainless-steel and disposable equipment. P1 used a perfusion cell culture viral production step, with a viral titer of 1 x 10(12) VP/mL in exclusively disposable equipment. Both processes were sized to produce 400 M/yr vaccine doses. P1 led to a smaller cost per dose than B1 ($0.15 vs. $0.23) and required a much smaller capital investment ($126 M vs. $299 M). The media and facility-dependent expenses were found to be the main contributors to the operating cost. The results indicate that adenoviral vector vaccines can be practically manufactured at large scale and low cost.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the rapid development of various vaccines, with some successful ones based on the adenoviral vector platform. This study designed, simulated, and economically evaluated two baseline processes for producing COVID-19 adenoviral vector vaccines, and found that perfusion cell culture was more cost-effective and required less capital investment than batch cell culture. The results suggest that adenoviral vector vaccines can be practically mass-produced at low cost.