Vaccine experts have described the Australian Government's move to lock in four COVID-19 vaccine deals as "clever" but warn one of significant logistical hurdles to overcome before one candidate can be distributed across the country.
Key points:
- The Government's new vaccine deal gives it four to chose from and a potential 134 million doses, putting in closer in line to the UK, US and Canada
- Experts welcomed the 'risk mitigation strategy' but warned there were still many hurdles to overcome
- They say one vaccine will "go off" if it not frozen at about -70 degrees and flagged significant logistical challenges ahead
The Australian Government on Thursday announced a $1.5 billion investment in two potential COVID-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and smaller firm Novavax, adding to the two deals it has previously signed with the University of Queensland (UQ) and a joint venture with Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
The new deal gives Australia four potential COVID-19 vaccines to choose from and up to 134 million doses, putting it closer in line with other countries such as Canada, the US and UK, which all have at least five individual vaccine supply deals.
Although the new deals were broadly welcomed by experts — with the Novavax candidate considered one of the global frontrunners — some questioned how realistic it is for the Pfizer vaccine to travel to clinics around Australia, if it were to be approved.
The Pfizer candidate, of which the Australian Government has set aside 10 million doses, uses new mRNA technology — what one expert described as a "dicey molecule" that, once manufactured, needs to be frozen at about -70 degrees before a human vaccination.
Vaccine experts say, just like a fresh piece of fish, it will 'go off' otherwise.
As Australia does not have the technology the locally manufacture mRNA vaccines, the Pfizer candidate will need to be manufactured overseas, transported to Australia and then transported domestically.
"This mass scale transportation has not been seen before," vaccine expert and Westmead Institute founding director Tony Cunningham said.
"And I'll be interested to see [how the Government] plans to deliver it to remote areas."
No COVID-19 vaccine anywhere in the world has yet been approved.
And it is understood the Government is still banking on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine — which Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed yesterday would be manufactured locally by CSL as early as next week — to remain its main early candidate, if it gains regulatory approval.
The Government said it hoped to see that vaccine "early" next year.
Doherty Institute head of vaccine and immunisation research group Terry Nolan, one of the country's top vaccine researchers, said yesterday's announcement was "very positive".
"We need to spread the risk because none of the vaccines are proven yet," he said.
"It's a risk mitigation strategy. Any one of them could fall over — or they all could fall over. It is a smart move, and I was a little surprised they didn't do this earlier, but they were obviously in negotiation."
However he shared Professor Cunningham's concerns on the logistics surrounding the Pfizer candidate.
"How they [the Government and Pfizer] plan to manage that, I don't know," Professor Nolan said.
"But they are doing trials of 44,000 individuals in the field in places like Brazil and Argentina, so perhaps they have solved those [transport] issues."
Pfizer Australia managing director Anne Harris said on Thursday the company had "detailed logistical plans" and tools to support effective vaccine transport, storage and continuous temperature monitoring.
"Additional studies are continuing to further understand and determine storage conditions," she said.
"Pfizer is confident of its capability to deliver doses to the locations governments designate, according to product shipping requirements."
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Government would be inviting companies to apply for the local logistical contracts through limited tender.
Local manufacturing needed
Professor Nolan said the lack of local mRNA manufacturing was part of a broader issue for all vaccines — not just COVID-19-related — and urged the Government to seriously consider an investment in the technology.
"One of our next generation vaccines is actually an mRNA vaccine," he said.
"And we've been very concerned about that if we are going to have a genuinely Australian mRNA vaccine then who the hell can make it at scale, and at industry standard?" Professor Nolan said.
"We're sadly behind Europe and the US in this capability. It is going to be the next big thing in vaccines and drugs — it's simple and very, very targeted. [But] it's brand new, only in the last few years. And there are no licenced mRNA vaccines [yet]."
In a press conference on Thursday, Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy said the Government was "exploring the potential" of local manufacturing of mRNA.
"But that isn't a prospect at the moment," Professor Murphy said.
Novavax an 'interesting prospect'
Speaking on the Novavax candidate, Professor Cunningham said it showed promise and he would be "very interested" to look into how it would work with older people.
"There are two interesting aspects to it, one is the fundamental structure of the protein part and the other one is the adjuvants [molecules or compounds] they use," he said.
Unlike the UQ and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines set to be manufactured by CSL in Australia, the Novavax candidate, if given the relevant approvals, will be manufactured overseas and imported.
However the Novavax candidate — which is being tested in Australia — is protein-based meaning it only needs to be refrigerated at about four degrees.
The choices on which vaccines the Government commits to are led by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group on Vaccines, headed by Professor Murphy.
The ABC understands a report for the Government's COVID-19 Rapid Research Information Forum by the Australian Academy of Science addressing the scientific developments and challenges in COVID-19 vaccine development will be published next week.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTA2L2NvdmlkMTktdmFjY2luZS1kZWFscy1pbi1hdXN0cmFsaWEtd2VsY29tZS1idXQtcXVlc3Rpb25zLXJlbWFpbi8xMjg1MTc1MNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjg1MTc1MA?oc=5
2020-11-05 17:38:00Z
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