Aseptic purification process for viruses

1. A process of purification of virus particles wherein the virus particles belong to the Coronaviridae virus family, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a liquid medium comprising said virus particles, wherein the virus particles are greater than or equal to about 100 nm in diameter;

(b) contacting the virus particles with a solid-phase matrix comprising a ligand-activated core and an inactive shell comprising pores having a molecular weight cut off that excludes the virus particles from entering the ligand-activated core, and wherein a molecule smaller than the molecular weight cut off of the pores can enter the ligand-activated core; and

(c) separating the solid-phase matrix from the virus particles to produce a final virus preparation;

wherein the solid-phase matrix is added to the liquid medium comprising the virus particles at a final concentration between 2.5% (v/v) and 30% (v/v); and wherein each step of the process is performed aseptically.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the liquid medium comprising the virus particles is subjected to one or more pre-purification step(s) prior to step (b).

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the virus particles are about 200 nm, 300 nm, 400 nm, 500 nm or more in diameter.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the molecule entering the core of the solid-phase matrix has a molecular weight less than 700 kDa.

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the ligand of the ligand-activated core of the solid-phase matrix is octylamine.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the relative reduction of impurity of the final virus preparation relative to the liquid medium comprising the plurality of the viruses or virus particles is in a range from 60 to 95%.

7. The process of claim 2 , wherein the pre-purification step comprises

(i) digesting host cell genomic DNA in the liquid medium comprising the plurality of the viruses or virus particles by enzymatic treatment; and/or

(ii) ultra/diafiltration of the liquid medium comprising the plurality of the viruses or virus particles using a hollow fiber membrane having a pore size equal or greater than 750 kDa.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process is followed by one or more aseptic filtration step(s).

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein the residual impurity of the final virus preparation is less than 1%.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein the liquid medium comprising said virus particles is produced in a cell culture by propagating the virus in a cell line selected from the group consisting of an EB66 cell line, a Vero cell line, a Vero-αHis cell line, a HeLa cell line, a HeLa-S3 cell line, a 293 cell line, a PC12 cell line, a CHO cell line, a 3T3 cell line, a PerC6 cell line, an MDSK cell line, a chicken embryonic fibroblast cell line, a duck cell line, and a diploid avian cell line.

11. The process of claim 10 , wherein said cell line is EB66 cell line.

12. A method for manufacturing a composition for immunization against a viral infection caused by a virus of the Coronaviridae family comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a liquid medium comprising virus particles belonging to the Coronaviridae family, wherein the virus particles are greater than or equal to about 100 nm in diameter;

(b) contacting the virus particles with a solid-phase matrix comprising a ligand-activated core and an inactive shell comprising pores having a molecular weight cut off that excludes the virus particles from entering the ligand-activated core, and wherein a molecule smaller than the molecular weight cut off of the pores can enter the ligand-activated core;

(c) separating the solid-phase matrix from the virus particles to produce a final virus preparation; and

(d) obtaining a sterile composition comprising the highly purified virus preparation,

wherein the solid-phase matrix is added to the liquid medium comprising the virus particles at a final concentration between 2.5% (v/v) and 30% (v/v); and wherein each step of the process is performed aseptically.