As UK witnesses a record spike in number of new COVID cases linked with the Omicron variant, researchers in the country are using new methods for quickly developing and mass-producing the mRNA vaccines and therapeutics at little cost to fight against COVID-19 and various other diseases.

The research project will enhance UK's and the world's capability to swiftly develop new vaccines, following response to the new variants of COVID-19 and possible future pandemics.

The University of Sheffield mentioned in a comment that in non-emergency times, the innovative production technology will offer developers and manufacturers access to advanced processes required to manufacture new vaccines and treatment for other diseases like metabolic disorders, cancer, CVD conditions and autoimmune diseases much faster.

Zoltan Kis, Lead Researcher from the University's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said that the COVID-19  vaccine produced had given a view of what can be achieved with the help of RNA technology.

As one of the greatest scientific achievements of the new generation, RNA technology has demonstrated the capability of changing the timeline for building and delivering a vaccine in years to months.

Researchers can leverage this multipurpose and transformative technology to develop mass-producing treatments and vaccines for other diseases.

To achieve this, it is required that researchers globally have access to novel high-tech RNA manufacturing processes for supporting their research, development and large-scale production programs, said Kis.

He added that COVID-19 has taught people how important it is to be prepared so that the world can quickly respond to pandemics. By improving the manufacturing and distribution process, researchers could make vaccine fasters.

He further mentioned that in the non-pandemic times, researchers could use these production processes to produce the vaccine and therapeutic candidates globally, which are required desperately against a broad range of diseases.

Source Credit - https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/uk-researchers-developing-new-covid-19-vaccines/articleshow/88383092.cms