China's first Good Manufacturing Practices workshop for mRNA vaccine production began R&D targeting tumors and infectious diseases Dec 31 at Zhuhai International Health Port in Sanzao Town, Jinwan District. The World Health Organization states that GMP ensures that medicinal products are consistently produced and controlled to quality standards.

Developed by Tricision (Zhuhai) Biotechnology, the nano mRNA vaccine production GMP workshop contains units for DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), mRNA, and nano mRNA preparation, quality control, and support systems. MessengerRNA can trigger the immune system to produce antibodies without using actual bits of a virus.

The workshop is built to a B+A cleanliness level and is installed with module preparation and quality control equipment.

Vaccine R&D [Photo by Zhang Zhou / Guanhai App]

Compared with the five-to-six-month production cycle of traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccine samples can be completed within 40 days. This provides exceptional advantages in dealing with infectious diseases such as COVID-19, tumors, and hereditary disorders.

GMP is a set of mandatory standards applicable to the pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. Unlike ordinary laboratories, GMP plants have stricter requirements in terms of environment, materials, and operations.

Founded in 2018 as a wholly own subsidiary of Beijing-based Tricision Biotherapeutics, Tricision Biotechnology researches and develops mRNA nucleic acid drugs and related technologies for the industrial chain. Establishment of the GMP workshop signifies transition of Tricision from a biotechnology to a biopharmaceutical company, according to chief technology officer Li Shiyou.

Zhuhai International Health Port currently has 16 enterprises preparing biological drugs and manufacturing medical equipment. Among them are Resproly Bio Pharmaceutical and Kintor Pharmaceuticals. Most of the plants are on 45,000 sqm (11 acres) of the GMP Manufacturing Zone. The occupancy rate of GMP plants exceeds 70 percent.