BIOLOGICAL E LTD, M-RNA VACCINE AND WHO TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER HUB

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Context

Vaccine maker Biological E. has been selected to receive mRNA technology from the World Health Organization technology transfer hub.

WHO’s Technology Transfer Hub

WHO’s Technology Transfer Hub was established in 2021 in response of the flagrant inequities in access to COVID-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa.
The objective of the technology transfer hub is to build capacity in low- and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines through a centre of excellence and training (the mRNA vaccine technology hub).

Biological E Limited

Biological E Limited (also known as BioE) is an Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, Telangana. It specialises in the areas of low-cost vaccine production.

RNA Vaccines

Unlike a normal vaccine, RNA vaccines work by introducing an mRNA sequence (the molecule which tells cells what to build) which is coded for a disease specific antigen. Once produced within the body, the antigen is recognised by the immune system, preparing it to fight the disease.
RNA vaccines are faster and cheaper to producethan traditional vaccines, and a RNA based vaccine is also safer for the patient, as they are not produced using infectious elements
Production of RNA vaccines is laboratory based, and the process could be standardised and scaled, allowing quick responses to large outbreaks and epidemics.

RNA vaccines use mRNA (messenger RNA) inside a lipid (fat) membrane. This fatty cover both protects the mRNA when it first enters the body, and also helps it to get inside cells by fusing with the cell membrane. Once the mRNA is inside the cell, machinery inside the cell translates it into the antigen protein. This mRNA typically lasts a few days, but in that time sufficient antigen is made to stimulate an immune response. It is then naturally broken down and removed by the body. RNA vaccines are not capable of combining with the human genetic code (DNA).

The mRNA vaccine is considered safe as is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.
They are expected to be highly efficacious because of their inherent capability of being translatable into the protein structure inside the cell cytoplasm.
Additionally, mRNA vaccines are fully synthetic and do not require a host for growth,g., eggs or bacteria. Therefore, they can be quickly manufactured in an inexpensive manner to ensure their "availability" and "accessibility" for mass vaccination on a sustainable basis.

Working of RNA Vaccine (Example-in case of Corona Virus)

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Read: https://www.iasgyan.in/blogs/types-of-vaccines

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/biological-e-to-receive-mrna-vaccine-tech-from-who/article65290270.ece