On April 12, Kazakhstan celebrates a professional holiday – Science Day!
It is on this day that we wish all science workers of Kazakhstan success in research, innovation and professional activities, fruitful work in a team of like-minded people, new scientific discoveries and, of course, insights, determination and cheerfulness!
THE DEVELOPMENT IS CARRIED OUT AROUND THE CLOCK — KAZAKH SCIENTISTS TOLD ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS VACCINE
OTAR. KAZINFORM
— On March 25, 2020, during a visit to the National Biotechnology Center, Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to continue work on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 coronavirus infection. Scientific Research Institute of Biological Safety Problems (Otar, Zhambyl region) together with the National Center for Biotechnology started developing a vaccine against coronavirus infection. This work is coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
According to WHO, 54 vaccine candidates are currently being developed by States, of which two have entered the clinical trials stage so far. As the analysis shows, a significant part of the vaccines being developed are vector or subunit vaccines created by genetic engineering. Similar technologies are used by world leaders in the field of vaccine production.
The same modern approaches and technology are used by our Kazakhstan scientists. In total, they plan to develop 4 candidate vaccines, of which 2 are vector and 2 are subunit based on fragments of the S-protein of the virus. After preclinical and clinical trials, the most effective and safe of them will be selected.
Scientists of the Scientific Research Institute of Biosafety Problems carry out work in laboratories of the 3rd level of BSL-3 biosafety on real strains of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The vaccine is being developed around the clock.
—The Research Institute of Biological Safety Problems has a more than 60-year history. The Institute develops tools and methods for detecting threats, assessing biological safety and manufacturing diagnostic and preventive drugs, including against dangerous and especially dangerous viral diseases of humans, animals and birds. It has accumulated extensive experience in the field of biosafety, biotechnology, virology, microbiology, and immunology.
The Institute is the only state organization in the Republic of Kazakhstan that solves the tasks of developing domestic manufacturing technologies, testing and registration of medical immunobiological drugs in the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Institute has registered vaccines against influenza A/H5N1 Kazfluvac (avian flu) and A/H1N1Refluvac (swine flu) for the first time.
The Institute has developed, conducted clinical trials and introduced into healthcare practice a 3-valent split vaccine against seasonal influenza (pre–clinical, I and II-phase clinical trials were conducted), as well as a vaccine against human tuberculosis (pre–clinical, I and II – phase clinical trials were conducted).
Scientists of the Institute have developed and implemented more than 60 names of drugs, including 30 vaccines, 16 test systems and more than 15 different biological products. 27 million doses of vaccines are produced annually. Currently, the Institute has a stable market for biological products. It is included in the register of the Customs Union as a supplier of vaccines abroad. The development and production of medical and veterinary vaccines also has a significant economic effect. For example, the purchase by the Ministry of Agriculture of a vaccine against nodular dermatitis, developed and produced at the Institute, saved the budget 2 billion tenge. The institute also has a unique depository, the base of the genetic library of viruses.
— The Research Institute of Biosafety Problems has an agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) on the development of vaccines against particularly dangerous infections for public health. Conducts joint research with the FSBI Research Institute of Influenza, SRIVS RAMS, Research Institute of Primatology (Russia), CDC, ARS USDA (USA), MTV (Austria), and other leading scientific centers and institutes of the world. The Institute is a member of the group of vaccine manufacturers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries.