The company told Forbes that it launched mid-to-late stage clinical trials for its Covid-19 vaccine Saturday, one of several second- generation shots that are vying for a share of the market as companies race to develop novel jabs and meet burgeoning demand for cheaper, more accessible.
The first participants in the trial were dosed Saturday.
The images are from the same source.
Akston said it had dosed the first participants in a study that would test its vaccine at room temperature for at least six months.
The India-based study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the two doses of the shot given in 28 days apart.
The vaccine will be tested in 100 healthy volunteers and a larger study on 1,500 healthy adults will begin in January.
The two-dose vaccine regimen will be given to 1,150 of them, while the remaining 350 will receive placebos.
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Moderna, Pfizer-bioNTech, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have a powerful first-mover advantage, but there are plenty of opportunities for a newcomer. The global market is not saturated and many countries are still unable to get the vaccines they need for first-time immunizations. The newer jabs could fulfill needs not met by the current vaccines. Some of the most widely-used jabs on the market are based on newer technologies, which can be off-putting for more hesitant individuals. They can be difficult to store and transport, require special ultracold freezers, and are not appropriate for some countries. Akston's shot uses a decades-old vaccine design that tends to have fewer side effects and is stable at room temperature for six months, which could help tackle vaccine hesitancy.
What to watch for.
The race to develop second-generation vaccines is not exclusive to Akston. A vaccine that didn't make it to market in time for the first wave of inoculations is causing a competition between pharma giants to make a delayed entry to the market. Novavax, a Maryland-based company that has not been able to bring a vaccine to market in its 34 years of existence, had its shot greenlit in Indonesia and the Philippines, though it is waiting on US approval. CureVac is in the process of bringing another shot to the market and French Valneva is using an inactivated virus to generate immunity. Some vaccine makers want to do away with needles entirely, and there are a number of oral, nasal and patchbased vaccines in development. Medicago is building vaccines based on plants.
Akston chief executive Todd Zion told Forbes that cost and logistics should not be underestimated, pointing to the relatively cheap manufacturing of protein-based shots. Zion said that the majority of the population who want to avoid vaccines made with newer technologies should be able to choose an alternative.
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