Expert: AstraZeneca Vaccine Use Fungus-Like Trypsin

Health workers show the AstraZeneca vaccine at Mandiri University, Batam, Riau Islands, Friday, March 26. (Teguh Prihatna / Antara)

JAKARTA - Aluicia Anita Artarini, a viral or virologist and lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, Bandung Institute of Technology, said that the COVID-18 vaccine made by AstraZeneca does not contain animal trypsin (enzyme), but rather the enzyme trypsin that resembles a fungus.

Recently, the AstraZeneca vaccine was widely discussed because it was said to contain pork trypsin. However, this was not true and was denied by Anita.

"AstraZeneca does not use animal trypsin in its production process and at the end, there is no trypsin," Anita said in a virtual talk, reported by Antara, Tuesday, March 30.

Anita said AstraZeneca uses the enzyme trypsin which comes from a fungus and is made specifically for the COVID-19 vaccine. This is stated in the documents of AstraZeneca and the Oxford team that conducted clinical trials.

Trypsin is also not included in the vaccine formula, but is only used as a slicer for mammalian cells, which AstraZeneca buys from a supplier of Bank Sel.

"It is an enzyme similar to trypsin activity and from fungi that is made by recombinant means," said Anita.

AstraZeneca and Oxford purchased HEK 923 cells from a supplier named Thermo Fisher as an ingredient in the vaccine.

The nature of the mammalian cell itself is attached to the container, so that it will be difficult for the process of growing the number of cells to be more numerous and researchers need trypsin enzyme protein to cut so that cells do not stick to the container.

"Tripsin eventually dies together with his cell. So it's like a double-edged knife, it is necessary to just cut it in the container, when it's released, that's it," said Anita.

Anita said that until now only HEK 923 cells could be used to multiply adenovirus.

"Maybe if technology can develop, there are other cells that can be used. That's one, and if the virus is from mammalian cells, it means that you have to use mammalian cells, this is not just the COVID virus but any viruses," said Anita.

"So can it or no if the ingredients are replaced? If the ingredients are replaced, the analysis is different. The manufacturing process and the contents are changed, there is a safety risk, so there will be clinical trials. I think what is accepted in the country and the contents are the same," added Anita.