Synthetic biology has already enabled the rapid public health response to Covid-19. Novartis developed a Covid-19 vaccine by deploying an existing synthetic biology emergency vaccine development pipeline that had been designed in response to the H1N1 flu pandemic. Not only can synthetic biology help with vaccine development, there are synthetic biology applications in vaccine delivery. At Prokarium in the UK, scientists have used a synthetic biology variant of salmonella to deliver vaccines without requiring an uncomfortable needle prick. The tamed bacteria delivers protein-based vaccines inside the body.
Vaccine and Drug Development