Synthesis of Glycoconjugate Vaccines in Genetically Engineered Bacterial Cells

Conjugate vaccines have been the most successful way to prevent and control deadly bacterial infections; however their production is complex and tedious. The manufacturing process of these large molecules consists of a biological production and extraction of polysaccharide antigen and protein carrier and its chemical conjugation. Herein a simplified manufacturing process is described where the conjugate vaccine is completely produced in bacterial cells. The polysaccharide antigen and the protein carrier are expressed recombinantly in E. coli cells and linked covalently by an enzymatic process. This novel biological production system leads to improved products and opens up the possibility to develop a wide variety of novel vaccines.