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Description of the CoVLP SARS-CoV-2 vaccine
The SARS-CoV-2 CoVLP vaccine uses live plants as bioreactors to produce non-infectious versions of viruses (called virus-like particles or VLPs).
VLPs mimic the architecture of a virus but are not infectious.
The Proficia® technology uses N. benthamiana plants, which is the most widely used experimental host in plant virology, mainly due to the large number of viruses that can successfully infect it. Its weakened immune system, the result of natural genetic changes over millennia, means that genetic material can be successfully harbored by the plant and not rejected.
VLPs present antigens to the individual’s immune system in a very efficient manner, eliciting a long-lasting protective immune response.
Indication of the SARS-CoV-2 CoVLP vaccine
The SARS-CoV-2 CoVLP vaccine is indicated to prevent COVID-19 disease that is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
SARS-CoV-2 CoVLP Vaccine News
November 10, 2020: 100 percent of subjects who received an adjuvanted vaccine candidate developed significant cellular and antibody immune responses after two doses
March 12, 2020 – MEDICAGO ANNOUNCES PRODUCTION OF A VIABLE COVID-19 VACCINE CANDIDATE
SARS-CoV-2 CoVLP Vaccine Clinical Trial
Clinical trial NCT04450004: Safety, Tolerability, and Immunogenicity of a COVID-19 Coronavirus-Like Particle Vaccine in Adults 18-55 Years
- The study will be a Phase 1 randomized, partially blinded, initial booster and dose escalation study aimed at evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the COVID-19 coronavirus-like particulate vaccine at three dose levels (3 , 75 µg, 7.5 µg and 15 µg of VLP) without adjuvant or adjuvated with CpG 1018 or AS03 in healthy adults 18 to 55 years of age, who have been evaluated for the absence of antibodies against SARS-CoV- 2.
- The use of an adjuvant may be of particular importance in a pandemic situation, as it can reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, allowing more doses of vaccine to be produced and thus helping to protect more people.
- Results: After two doses, the adjuvanted candidate vaccine induced strong neutralizing antibody and cellular immune responses, which is encouraging and supports further clinical evaluation, ”said Nathalie Landry, executive vice president of Medical and Scientific Affairs for Medicago. “We also observed that antibody levels were higher after vaccination than those seen in convalescent sera from people who recovered from the disease.”