Grant: Alliance Grants

The Canadian federal and provincial governments call on research institutions and private partners to develop innovative solutions to control the Covid-19 virus spread. Development of a vaccine is one major priority. A stable and cost-effective fermentation process for Covid-19 vaccine production could be a solution. Ulysse Biotechnologies is a Canadian enterprise specialist in application of industrial microorganisms and biotechnology in agrifood and hygiene sectors. The enterprise mobilizes its scientific team to develop a microbial platform for expression of SARS-Covid-19 spike (S) protein receptor binding domain in bacteria and yeast strains in order to manufacture a novel oral vaccine. One of these strains is a Bacillus subtilis that shall be used as a vaccine delivery system which helps the human immune system to recognize Covid-19 virus and produce necessary antibodies against this virus. This strain is now ready to be produced in fermenters and the company called on UQTR to assess the strain stability and efficiency and to develop a fermentation strategy that could increase the product yield and reduce the production cost. A research project is then proposed to accelerate the manufacture of this new oral vaccine and meet the urgent need for vaccine.