Contract development and manufacturing organisation Touchlight has collaborated with the UK's University of Nottingham to supply good manufacturing practice (GMP) grade dbDNA technology for a clinical study aimed at developing a next-generation vaccine for the Zika virus.

The study is led by Nottingham’s Wolfson Centre for Global Virus Research director Janet Daly, and Dr James Dixon from its School of Pharmacy.

Scientists at the University of Nottingham are scaling up the development of a Zika virus DNA vaccine.

The approach involves a synthetic manufacturing process that significantly reduces the time required to develop the vaccine from six months to just six weeks.

Dixon stated: “The Touchlight technology has enabled us to make rapid progress and will make it possible to produce large quantities of the DNA vaccine at speed which is vital in pandemic prevention and our response to deployment of vaccines in the developing world and globally.

“It will be hugely exciting to complete the pre-clinical trials and take us into the final stages with clinical trials and seeing real-world impact.”

Touchlight's dbDNA technology is an advance in DNA production, offering a quick and scaleable solution that is particularly suitable for vaccine development.

The technology is expected to lower dosages, eliminate antibiotic resistance and facilitate the creation of stable, low-cost vaccines for developing countries.

Touchlight chief operating officer Tommy Duncan stated: “We are committed to enabling developers of DNA vaccines by providing rapid, high purity DNA for vaccines against emerging pathogens.”

The project received funding from the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the UK Vaccine Network initiative focused on developing vaccines for epidemic-prone diseases in low and middle-income countries.