![]() This development is in collaboration with the Japanese company, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, and is currently in phase 1 trials. In addition to flu vaccines, we are also working on a vaccine against rotavirus, a highly contagious and potentially fatal childhood infection. We are also investigating a next-generation or universal flu vaccine. As a recombinant technology, our plant-based platform has the potential to match selected seasonal influenza strains and allow faster response to emerging viral infections. Our quadrivalent seasonal flu vaccine was accepted for scientific review by Health Canada in October 2019, and we hope a decision will be made for the 2020 Canadian flu season. What progress have you made on your other vaccines? In addition to the vaccine, we are developing SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics based on antibodies taken from donors who have recovered from the infection.We have around a hundred candidates and are working on narrowing these down to a few of the most promising. Our objective is to initiate phase 1 human trials in June or July, and then phase 2 trials by the end of 2020. As of mid-May, we finished initial pre-clinical studies the next step is non-human primate studies. What is the status of your COVID-19 vaccine?īecause our platform is rapid, we were able to produce a vaccine candidate in just 20 days after receiving the SARSCoV-2 viral sequence. ![]() Our scale-up doesn’t require a change in growth medium from bench to commercial manufacturing it only requires the space to grow more plants. Cell-based vaccine manufacturing is another emerging technology, but using cells as bioreactors can make scale-up challenging.Different growing conditions can mean small, but potentially clinically significant differences in the final protein. Producing vaccines in hens’ eggs-the process for most seasonal flu vaccines-carries risk of virus mutation during the manufacturing process, potentially rendering the vaccine less effective. While non-infectious and non-replicating, VLPs, like a virus without genetic material, present a shell structure studded with the antigen required to trigger immunity. Our plants produce Virus-Like Particles, or VLPs, in high volume. How can plants serve as a platform for vaccine development? Today, we can go from genetic sequence to clinical grade material in six to eight weeks. ![]() The knowledge we gained on the plant’s biological mechanisms and processes allowed us to use them as small bioreactors to produce vaccines and therapeutic antibodies. ![]() Our company name comes from the Latin for alfalfa, Medicago sativa, and we began in 1999 as nutraceuticals producer. Credit: Medicago How did the company come to focus on vaccines? Clark, who became the company’s CEO in March 2017, is overseeing its push to become a fully integrated biotech, with a seasonal flu vaccine close to market and another vaccine against COVID-19 under rapid development.ĭr. Medicago uses plants to produce vaccine and therapeutic candidates, and the platform has found new purpose in the age of coronavirus.ĭr. That holds doubly true for Medicago, a Canadian biopharma company. Credit: pkujiahe/iStock/Getty ImagesĪ pandemic is a challenging but interesting moment for anyone involved in infectious disease, particularly those developing therapeutics and vaccines. From genetic sequence to clinical-grade material in a plant in just six weeks. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |