The scientists were able to develop the first Covid jabs in less than a year. After the UK went into a state of emergency nine months ago, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive a vaccine. The emergence of the Omicron variant last month has focused attention on the next generation of jabs.
What do we know about the new Covid-19 vaccines? Vaxart has a vaccine-in-a-pill and Scancell has spring-powered injectors that pierce the skin without a needle. T-cell technology is the biggest development. T-cells are white blood cells that are part of the immune system. The new vaccines use T-cells to find and destroy infections and prevent them from replicating. The current vaccines produce a T-cell response, but to a lesser extent.
Scientists said that vaccines targeting a T-cell response could be better at fighting viruses. Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said that the first-generation Covid-19 vaccines were a rapid and massive victory. They are the first generation of quick wins, which is how they should be viewed. There are challenges to consider moving forward.
The companies are on the cutting edge of development.
Medicago-GSK.
Medicago, a Canadian company, and UK-based Glaxo announced last week positive efficacy and safety results from a global trial for a plant-based vaccine. It is based on a relative of the tobacco plant, used to produce a particle that mimics the virus, and is combined with an adjuvant made by GSK. The late-stage trial showed that the jab had an efficacy rate of 75% against the Delta variant. The new Omicron variant was not included in the study.
Medicago, majority-owned by Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical, is in talks with US and UK regulators, as well as in Canada, where Philip Morris International holds a one-third stake. Plant-derived vaccines are cheap to produce and easy to store, according to the World Health Organization.
Vaxart.
The world's first oral Covid vaccine, which elicits a T-cell response and creates some antibodies in the nose, has been developed by the firm. In October, the firm dosed its first patients. It is testing if the tablet works against Omicron.
A trial with 800 participants will follow next year. The US trial's full data is expected in March.
The tablets can be stored without the need to keep them cool, which makes them easier to use around the world and eliminates the problem of needlephobia.
Dr Sean Tucker founded Vaxart 17 years ago and says that a pill and a glass of water can speed up your journey. If we stop the virus in the mucosa, we can fight it off and keep people healthy.
Scancell.
Scancell has a needle-free system.
The University of Oxford spinout is testing two vaccine candidates against the original and variant sars-coV-2 viruses in 40 healthy volunteers in South Africa. The first patient was dosed in October and Scancell will conduct a further trial in the UK.
The vaccines have been developed with the help of the two universities inNottingham and are based on a modification of Scancell's vaccine technology. They are given via a small stream of fluid that is injected into the skin.
Scancell was founded in 1997 by a professor of cancer immunotherapy at the University ofNottingham and the firm's chief executive. It was listed in London. Redmile and the Singapore Vulpes Life Science Fund are the two main shareholders of the company.
Emergex.
The vaccine will eventually be available in a skin patch. The first human trial will be in January. The product can last up to three months. Emergex, founded in 2016 by Thomas Rademacher, a professor of medicine at University College London to develop T-cell vaccines, is owned by a Singaporean venture capital firm.
The vaccine group.
The University of Plymouth spinout has developed a vaccine that has been shown to work against both Covid and sars in animal studies. Jeremy Salt, the chief executive, a trained vet who has worked for Pfizer in vaccine development, says that it stimulates a strong T-cell response, would be effective against other variants and could boost other vaccines. The group is looking for a commercial partner that can make the vaccine at scale. It can be given as an injection or a spray.
