A second generation viral vector COVID vaccine candidate from ImmunityBio Inc is being considered as a booster shot in a study involving nearly 500 000 South African health workers already innoculated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The health workers, who are the first outside of much smaller studies to receive vaccinations in South Africa, will need a booster, Glenda Gray, the co-lead of the South African studies, said in an interview Wednesday.
“It could be the universal boost that we are looking for,” she said. “Hopefully we will start in a couple of weeks.”
ImmunityBio’s second generation COVID vaccine candidate uses an hAd5 virus as vector. It induces both short term and long term immunity, and besides targeting the coronavirus’ spike proteins like first generation vaccines, it also targets the nucleocapsid protein, which has a lower rate of mutations. Additionally, this hAd5 vector virus provokes an anti-SARS-CoV-2 response, even in individuals with adenovirus immunity.
The magnitude of this T cell response was equivalent to those seen for spike and nucleocapsid T cell responses from previously infected convalescent SARS-CoV-2 patients.
The robust T cell response to both proteins could make it more effective against strains such as the B.1.351 ‘South African’ variant , ImmunityBio said in a statement earlier this year.
The vaccine is also being assessed to determine the safety and effectiveness of oral, sublingual and subcutaneous administration routes.
ImmunityBio’s vaccine is currently in phase I trials in Cape Town, and the company has signed an agreement with South Africa’s BioVac Institute to produce the inoculation in the country should it win approval.
Source: BusinessTech
