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Coronavirus vaccine, let’s start testing
Thanks to the collaboration between Italy and the Oxford University, the first 1000 doses of the vaccine will be manufactured by the end of February. We will stop the coronavirus Spike protein, which is causing the current epidemic, using an adenovirus.
Good news: new cases are finally decreasing in China, and the procedures for a vaccine are now faster. In this regard, IRBM based in Pomezia, Rome, and the Jenner Institute of Oxford University have strengthen their long-lasting collaboration by working together to manufacture a first batch of the coronavirus vaccine.
The vaccine is produced with a safe version of an adenovirus. The adenovirus has been modified so that it cannot reproduce within the body, and the genetic code that provides instructions for producing the coronavirus Spike protein, usually found on the surface of coronavirus, has been added. In this way the adenovirus is able to produce this protein. The whole process induces the formation of antibodies to the Spike protein in vaccinated subjects. Such antibodies can bind to the coronavirus and stop it from causing an infection.
While the Jenner Institute has gained a relevant experience with other coronavirus, by working on a vaccine for MERS too, IRBM manufactured a vaccine for Ebola in 2014. Italy is on the front line in this project, which is so significant for the whole international community.
Article published on Il Riformista – 21/02/2020
