On Tuesday, December 7, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a Pharmaceutical company, has claimed positive results from a phase three trial of its plant-based coronavirus vaccine, making it the first vaccine of this kind to reach the point of seeking emergency approval. With the exception of Omicron, the vaccination has a 71% overall efficacy rate against all variants of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, and is roughly 75% effective against diseases caused by the virus, the company stated in a press release. GSK developed the vaccine in collaboration with Medicago, a Canadian biopharmaceutical firm.
Medicago is expected to submit trial data as soon as possible and seek approval from Health Canada, the country’s regulatory office. Meanwhile, filing procedures for emergency approval have already begun in the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the release. A total of 24,000 adults from six nations participated in the vaccine’s trial and they did not report any major or negative side effects.
According to the release, the two-dose vaccine proved to be more effective than other approved vaccines, after it was trialled in an environment dominated by SARS-CoV-2 variants. Takashi Nagao, the president of Medicago, said in a statement that this is a “watershed” moment for Medicago and novel vaccine platforms in general. “Our clinical experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of plant-based vaccine production technologies. If approved, we will be helping to battle the COVID-19 pandemic by developing the world’s first plant-based vaccine for human use,” he added.
According to the release, both Medicago and GSK had previously produced protein vaccines using virus-like particles, a 30-year-old technology. Plants are used as bioreactors to develop non-infectious protein particles that imitate the native structure of viruses, boosting the immune system’s reaction to an invading virus. Medicago claims to use Nicotiana benthamiana, a close relative of the tobacco plant, in their vaccines.
The plant-based vaccine need not be stored at very cold temperatures
It is significant to mention here that plant-based vaccines are usually less expensive to produce and are safer for patients. According to the release, the new vaccine, unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, will not need to be stored at very cold temperatures, making it far easier for distribution. The vaccine will be administered in two doses within a gap of 21 days. The vaccine may be stored at temperatures ranging from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, allowing it to be distributed using traditional vaccine supply and cold chain channels, the GSK stated in the release.
Image: AP/Pixabay/Representative
On Tuesday, December 7, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), a Pharmaceutical company, has claimed positive results from a phase three trial of its plant-based coronavirus vaccine, making it the first vaccine of this kind to reach the point of seeking emergency approval. With the exception of Omicron, the vaccination has a 71% overall efficacy rate against all variants of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, and is roughly 75% effective against diseases caused by the virus, the company stated in a press release. GSK developed the vaccine in collaboration with Medicago, a Canadian biopharmaceutical firm. Medicago is expected to submit trial data as soon as possible and seek approval from Health Canada, the country’s regulatory office. Meanwhile, filing procedures for emergency approval have already begun in the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the release. A total of 24,000 adults from six nations participated in the vaccine’s trial and they did not report any major or negative side effects. According to the release, the two-dose vaccine proved to be more effective than other approved vaccines, after it was trialled in an environment dominated by SARS-CoV-2 variants. Takashi Nagao, the president of Medicago, said in a statement that this is a “watershed” moment for Medicago and novel vaccine platforms in general. “Our clinical experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of plant-based vaccine production technologies. If approved, we will be helping to battle the COVID-19 pandemic by developing the world’s first plant-based vaccine for human use,” he added. According to the release, both Medicago and GSK had previously produced protein vaccines using virus-like particles, a 30-year-old technology. Plants are used as bioreactors to develop non-infectious protein particles that imitate the native structure of viruses, boosting the immune system’s reaction to an invading virus. Medicago claims to use Nicotiana benthamiana, a close relative of the tobacco plant, in their vaccines. The plant-based vaccine need not be stored at very cold temperatures It is significant to mention here that plant-based vaccines are usually less expensive to produce and are safer for patients. According to the release, the new vaccine, unlike the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, will not need to be stored at very cold temperatures, making it far easier for distribution. The vaccine will be administered in two doses within a gap of 21 days. The vaccine may be stored at temperatures ranging from 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, allowing it to be distributed using traditional vaccine supply and cold chain channels, the GSK stated in the release. Image: AP/Pixabay/Representative