British American Tobacco (BAT), the parent company of local distributor Demerara Tobacco Company Limited (DEMTOCO), is currently working on a vaccine for the novel Coronavirus.
In order to do this, BAT is using its US bio-tech subsidiary, Kentucky BioProcessing (KBP). The UK company announced today that the vaccine is now in pre-clinical testing. If all goes well with the testing, BAT is hopeful that with the right partners and support from government agencies, between one and three million doses of the vaccine could be manufactured per week, beginning in June.
While KBP remains a commercial operation, BAT said the intention is that its work around the Covid-19 vaccine project will be carried out on a not for profit basis. The vaccine in development uses BAT’s proprietary, fast-growing tobacco plant technology which the company said has several advantages over conventional vaccine production technology. In this regard, BAT outlined that the technology is potentially safer given that tobacco plants can’t host pathogens which cause human disease and it is faster because the elements of the vaccine accumulate in tobacco plants much more quickly.
It was also noted that the vaccine formulation KBP is developing remains stable at room temperature, unlike conventional vaccines which often require refrigeration.
BAT’s US subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc, acquired KBP in 2014, with the aim of using some of its unique tobacco extraction technology to aid further development of its new category non-combustible products. In 2014, KBP made headlines as one of the few companies with an effective treatment for Ebola, having manufactured ZMapp™ with California-based company Mapp BioPharmaceuticals in partnership with the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
Furthermore, KBP recently cloned a portion of COVID-19’s genetic sequence which led to the development of a potential antigen – a substance which induces an immune response in the body and in particular, the production of antibodies. This antigen was then inserted into tobacco plants for reproduction and, once the plants were harvested, the antigen was then purified, and is now undergoing pre-clinical testing.
The Guyana Standard understands that BAT is now exploring partnerships with government agencies to bring its vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible.
