Candidate: Vaccine to prevent COVID-19
Category: VAX
Type: Intranasal vaccine consisting of a Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vector that expresses the immunogenic spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine will combine Intravacc’s vaccine development technology, viral vector technology and animal technologies from Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), and the coronavirus expertise of Dutch Utrecht University.
Status: Intravacc, WBVR, and Dutch Utrecht University said June 4 they agreed to partner on developing a COVID-19 vaccine. Intravacc will use its viral vaccine production process, based on a cGMP-grade Vero cell line. WBVR has developed a “reverse genetics” technique that allows the genetic modification of NDV, enabling its use as a vaccine vector against human and animal infectious diseases.
Because a nasal vaccination induces both mucosal and systemic immunity, the partners said, it has an advantage over intramuscular vaccination, which primarily induces an antibody response. Intranasal vaccination may also confer protection against infections at other mucosal sites, such as the lungs, intestines, and genital tract, according to Intravacc, WBVR, and the University.
COVID-19: 200 Candidates and Counting
To navigate through the >200 potential therapeutic and vaccine options for COVID-19, GEN has grouped the candidates into four broad categories based on their developmental and (where applicable) clinical progress:
● FRONT RUNNER – the most promising therapeutics/vaccines based on clinical progress, favorable data or both.
● DEFINITELY MAYBE – earlier phases with promising partners, or more advanced candidates in development that have generated uneven data.
● KEEPING AN EYE ON… – interesting technology, attracting notable partners, or both, but preliminary data.
● TOO SOON TO TELL – longshots pending additional experimental and/or clinical data.
GEN has also tagged the most common treatment types:
● ANTIVIRAL
● VAX
● ANTIBODY
● RNA
