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The University of Oxford in the UK has reported positive findings from its candidate vaccine Covid-19 in a small preclinical study involving six monkeys.
These preliminary data for the vaccine, which is currently in human trials, have been published on the prepress website bioRxiv, Reuters noted.
According to the publication, some of the monkeys given a single injection of the vaccine generated antibodies to the virus within 14 days, while all monkeys developed antibodies within 28 days, before being exposed to high doses of the virus.
After exposure to the coronavirus, the candidate vaccine was found to prevent damage to the lungs and block virus replication. However, the virus was found to be actively replicating in the nose.
Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Stephen Evans, said the animal data was “good news.” Evans was quoted as saying: “It is one of the hurdles that the Oxford vaccine must overcome and it has removed well.”
The professor further noted that no evidence of immune-enhanced disease, where a vaccine worsens a disease, was reassuring.
Evans added: “This was a definitive theoretical concern for a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and finding no evidence for it in this study is very encouraging.”
Loading …Last month, the University of Oxford signed an agreement with AstraZeneca to develop and distribute its candidate vaccine Covid-19, which is a recombinant adenovirus vaccine being developed by Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group at the university.
Human test results are expected next month, with plans to begin late-stage testing in the middle of this year. As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will carry out the global development, manufacturing and distribution of the vaccine.
