Candidate: Vaccine to prevent COVID-19
Type: Vaccine using neutralizing antibody to block the receptor binding domain of SARFS-CoV-2 glycoprotein responsible for binding to the host cell receptor and setting off the viral replication process
Status: Versatope CEO Christopher Locher told the Lowell (MA) Sun in March that his company was pursuing supplemental NIH funding to develop its influenza vaccine against COVID-19. Versatope is a Lowell-based startup originally located in Boston before moving to Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), a collaboration of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Lowell and UMass Medical School campuses.
According to Versatope, the vaccine is designed to induce antibodies to neutralize the virus before cell entry, offering broad strain recognition for a potential viable solution for both cross-strain protection and long-term immunity.
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
