The three-year collaboration between RocketVax AG and a consortium of renowned research institutions from Bern, Geneva, Berlin and Riems (Germany) will bring two second generation vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 into phase I clinical trials. Funded by the German Research Foundation, Innosuisse, the Canton of Basel-Stadt, and private investors, RocketVax provides support in setting up production and in upscaling.
A consortium of renowned researchers from Bern, Geneva, Berlin and Riems (Germany) are developing two vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2. Unlike existing vaccines, the team is developing a live-attenuated vaccine that is, a form of the virus that does not make people sick but still elicits an immune response. Live vaccines have already proven successful in other vaccination drives, for example against measles. The two new vaccine candidates differ from the first-generation vaccines in several respects: they also become active in new viral variants because they contain all viral proteins and not just the spike protein. They, therefore, provide a broader immune response resulting from the activation of T cells against all viral proteins.
The future vaccine will be made available as a nasal spray, which not only simplifies administration but also activates the important immune response on the mucous membranes. Transport and storage will be simplified because the vaccine remains stable at higher temperatures and can therefore be used in warmer countries. The next step in development is to move to phase I clinical trials. The preparatory work includes characterising the vaccine candidates and immune responses more precisely in order to better understand why the viruses are attenuated and why they are immunogenic.
Collaboration with RocketVAX
The German-Swiss research team has now signed a three-year research agreement with the Basel-based biotech start-up RocketVax AG. This will allow researchers to develop the new vaccine for clinical trials. The collaboration with RocketVax provides support in setting up production and in upscaling. Pending completion of the clinical trials, this opens up the prospect of producing a vaccine in Switzerland in the future and making it available worldwide.
The initial steps to develop the vaccine candidates were taken by an NRP 78 project of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and an Innosuisse application to continue implementation after the end of the NRP is already in progress.
(Press release)
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