British American Tobacco, the manufacturer of Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes, has said that its biotechnology unit is working on a possible vaccine for the Corona Emerging Virus (Covid-19) using proteins Extracted from tobacco leaves.

The company added that the Kentucky Bioprocess Unit, which is working on innovating the vaccine, may produce between one and three million doses per week starting next June, with the support of government agencies and specialized manufacturing companies. .

The company indicated that Kentucky Bioprocessing, a division of the Reynolds American unit of the company in the United States, would create the vaccine without targeting the profit.

The vaccine, which is currently undergoing pre-clinical testing, uses a transcript part of the genome of the coronavirus to create an antigen that is then inserted into tobacco plants for reproduction. p>

The company said it was working with the US Food and Drug Administration on next steps and was also reaching out to health authorities in Britain to subject their vaccine to clinical studies as soon as possible.