Serum Institute of India has begun manufacturing the COVID-19 candidate vaccine developed by Codagenix Inc, the American biotech firm said in a statement. Nicknamed CDX-005, the coronavirus vaccine candidate has completed preclinical studies in animals. The company aims to begin the phase I clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine in the UK later this year.
Codagenix previously teamed up with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by number of doses produced, to develop CDX-005. “Today marks an important step in our efforts to advance the development of CDX-005,” said J. Robert Coleman, Ph.D., CEO of Codagenix.
The preclinical study has shown promising results, the biotech company said. “Pre-clinical testing of a single intranasal dose of CDX-005 in animals has yielded encouraging signs of safety and efficacy,” the company said in a statement. “With financial and technical support from the Serum Institute, we hope to rapidly roll out the vaccine in the clinic before the end of 2020,” added Coleman.
How the Codagenix COVID-19 Vaccine Works:
“The CDX-005 was designed using our proprietary codon deoptimization software platform, which allowed us to recode the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome by inserting hundreds of mutations. These mutations result in a live attenuated vaccine that is not yet pathogenic. it has the potential to stimulate a robust T-cell and antibody immune response that mimics that of the wild-type virus, “Coleman said.
Explaining how Codagenix’s COVID-19 vaccine will work differently than the other vaccine candidate, Coleman said: “Our live attenuated vaccine approach is in stark contrast to many of the more common COVID-19 immunization strategies currently undergoing. to human testing, as candidates for virus-like particles, which only target the spike protein, or adenovirus vectored approaches that could cause off-target effects. “
“Additionally, CDX-005 is administered intranasally rather than by injection, allowing for more efficient and patient-friendly administration,” he added.
Serum Institute received the necessary regulatory approval from the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Genetic Manipulation Review Committee (RCGM) to manufacture Codagenix’s COVID-19 vaccine, the US firm said in a statement.
Serum Institute will begin manufacturing for large-scale safety and efficacy studies, in addition to preparing to meet global vaccine supply requirements, the chief pharmacist said.
Glenn Rockman, Managing Partner at Adjuvant Capital, added: “The software-based virus recoding approach used by Codagenix has the potential to not only develop optimized and more affordable versions of existing vaccines, but also to respond quickly to future outbreaks.”
Codagenix is a clinical-stage synthetic biology company that uses software to recode the genomes of viruses, building live attenuated viruses or vaccines to prevent viral infections or treat solid tumors. Codagenix vaccine programs are backed by investors Adjuvant Capital and TopSpin Partners.
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