Two Brazilian scientists have been working out of an office that's just big enough for their two desks for the last two years.
They were worried that they would have too much fun.
Ano Bom said that she was his best friend.
Now, says Neves, laughing, too. She says that the two have been inseparable since they met in college. All afternoon, it's about husbands, kids, family.
About science as well. Because of this friendship, the two women have been able to launch a partnership that could make it easier for low- and middle-income countries to get a vaccine.
The vaccine against COVID is the most cutting-edge. Pfizer and Moderna are the only companies that have made them. Both companies refuse to share their manufacturing know-how. They are going to end the hold.
After graduating from college, the tale of how Neves and Ano Bom came to mount this challenge began.
The BioManguinhos Fiocruz Foundation is the premier agency for vaccine research and development in Brazil. She was trying to create a vaccine-like treatment for breast cancer using the same technology as the swine flu vaccine.
Early results suggested that Moderna and Pfizer were going to be able to develop a vaccine against COVID. What if the type of mRNA her team had worked with for the breast cancer project could be used in a vaccine?
I said, "Let's do carbon dioxide!" "'Let's do carbon dioxide!'" says Neves. We need to prove that our genes work.
Only a few scientists in the world have figured out how to get messenger RNA into the human body.
Ano Bom was Neves' best friend.
Ano Bom joined BioManguinhos Fiocruz after graduating from college.
"I think Ana Paula is a genius," said Neves.
Ano Bom was enlisted to work on the breast cancer project.
Ano Bom said she immediately replied with "Bora!" when she heard about the COVID vaccine. Vam bora.
"Let's go!" is what it means.
Ano Bom was cracking up when she said yes. "Alright, let's leave!"
A willingness to go for goals that even many scientists at their own institute consider far-fetched is one of the qualities these two friends share.
Ano Bom says that they are innovative and crazy.
Setting out to create their own vaccine against COVID was insane. Moderna and Pfizer had a lot of experience. The companies have hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. The two people have spent about $1 million. Their budget is close to fifteen million dollars. There is a public entity in Brazil.
The nature of the institute gives it an advantage. It's not for financial gain. Money is not something we are interested in. We would like to open this technology. The main driver for us is to give vaccines to people who need them.
If the team succeeds in making this new vaccine, they'll commit to sharing the patent and manufacturing process with vaccine makers around the world. They want the coronaviruses vaccine to be made quickly and widely available to low- and middle-income countries.
When it comes to getting cutting-edge vaccines, these countries are usually behind the times.
She says that she wants to see people die because of diseases that already have a vaccine. It is not acceptable.
It's their focus that makes them make sure to use an approach that's suited to countries with limited resources.
A team member, Rafaele Loureiro, is using a pipette to drop liquid ingredients into a tiny test tube.
Loureiro said they would put in two microliters of it. She says that it's like magic.
It's called self-amplifying, and it's what the process creates that works like the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
There are some messages inside the mRNA that make it work. The body takes care of making the rest if you put a small amount in it.
Lower- and middle-income countries will benefit because less raw material is required. It's less expensive to produce.
The next stop on the tour is the lab where Ano Bom has come up with a number of ways to deliver the vaccine into the body. She's comparing them against another method that she's purchased from an American company.
At a work station where another team member is using a needle to push liquid through a small metal sieve, there are obstacles Ano Bom is facing. She does this by hand many times.
There's actually a machine for doing this.
How much time would it take for this task to be completed? That's really true! Do you want to find out? Cunha replied with a laugh. Two minutes is what I think.
Ano Bom bought the machine from an American supplier, but is still waiting for it to arrive in her lab. Ano Bom gave an expression of annoyance. She thinks bureaucracy is the reason Brazil's regulatory agencies don't approve imports of equipment and supplies for rapid vaccine invention. Delays in getting equipment and materials have caused Ano Bom to be delayed at least ten months.
The team got a boost when the World Health Organization made the Brazil project a centerpiece of a new global initiative. The goal is to figure out how to make a vaccine and then set up hubs to teach it.
The seal of approval from the WHO brings the project to another level. They have access to technical support from WHO and the other partners, as well as PATH, a non-profit that provides expertise in key aspects of vaccine development.
The Brazilian team is on track to begin phase one trials this year. They want to have the vaccine ready for release and manufacturing within a year and a half.
It is not unique. A team in South Africa is trying to copy Moderna's version of the vaccine in order to make it publicly available. A private company based in the US is working on a vaccine that uses self-amplifying mRNA.
The first original new vaccine that is meant to be shared with the world is likely to be created by Neves and Ano Bom.
The pressures of their timelines are visible as Neves starts up a video conference with specialists on quality control. We are trying to see if we could do the study quickly.
Ano Bom is working on a presentation for tomorrow. "Yes, I should be preparing one as well," she said.
As it became clear that the project was turning into something big, their husbands were excited. They began to say, 'Ah!' Now you're going to get more money. The husbands were told by the researchers that they were not getting any more money for this. We're just getting more work.
Two friends laugh again. Ano Bom says that only more work is needed.
She quickly said that they wouldn't have it any other way. Our sense of justice is what motivates us.
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