{"id":42097,"date":"2021-08-19T11:52:08","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T15:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencebusiness.technewslit.com\/?p=42097"},"modified":"2021-08-19T11:52:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T15:52:08","slug":"cepi-funding-covid-19-variant-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/technewslit.com\/sciencebusiness\/?p=42097","title":{"rendered":"CEPI Funding Covid-19 Variant Vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SARS-CoV-2<\/a>
Transmission electron micrograph of a SARS-CoV-2 virus particle, isolated from a patient. (NIAID, NIH)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

19 Aug. 2021. A biotechnology company is advancing a vaccine to protect against disease from SARS-CoV-2 variants, with new support from the organization CEPI. Gritstone Bio Inc.<\/a> in Emeryville, California is receiving $20.6 million from CEPI, short for Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations<\/a> in Oslo, Norway, with the next clinical trial of the vaccine expected in South Africa.<\/p>\n

Gritstone Bio creates treatments for cancer and vaccines for infectious diseases with its immunology platform based on a specific DNA composition of target cells called neo-antigens<\/a>. The company first created its\u00a0technology<\/a>, called Edge, for cancer to evaluate DNA from each patient\u2019s tumor using genomic sequencing and bioinformatics to identify individual tumor-specific neo-antigens. Gritstone then applies its own algorithms with artificial intelligence to identify the most likely neo-antigens to activate an immune response, and delivers personalized synthetic neo-antigens for the patient as a vaccine, either on their own or with other therapies. Among Gritstone\u2019s own treatments are\u00a0T-cell receptors<\/a>, naturally occurring proteins modified to target other characteristic proteins on the surface of a target virus or cancer cells.<\/p>\n

For Covid-19 vaccines<\/a>, Gritstone applies its technology to targets on the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 infections. The company licensed from La Jolla Institute for Immunology<\/a>\u00a0validated\u00a0epitopes<\/a>, binding sites for antibodies and T-cells on antigen proteins recognized by the immune system, for SARS-CoV-2 viruses. La Jolla Institute derived the epitopes from analyzing hundreds of recovering Covid-19 patient blood samples. With those epitopes and neo-antigens, Gritstone’s Covid-19 vaccine, called Coral, generates a dual response, first a prime immune response, then a supplemental boost from self-amplifying messenger RNA, or mRNA.<\/p>\n

“Our unique approach,” says Gritstone co-founder and president Andrew Allen<\/a> in a company statement<\/a>, “combines our self-amplifying mRNA platform with a broad set of viral antigens beyond spike intended to drive robust and durable immune responses comprising both neutralizing antibodies and CD8+ T cells.” Allen adds, “our Coral vaccine may offer protection against emerging spike variants of SARS-CoV-2 that appear challenging for first generation vaccines.”<\/p>\n

Testing two self-amplifying mRNA formulations<\/h4>\n

As reported by Science & Enterprise<\/a> in January, Gritstone focuses its Covid-19 vaccine on emerging variants from mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The company’s early support for the multi-variant vaccine came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n

The new CEPI funds support preclinical research, scale-up, and formulation of a more stable vaccine. The funds also finance an early-stage clinical trial of the vaccine in South Africa, among participants receiving a vaccine for the first time, people recovering from Covid-19 infections, and individuals living with HIV, who make up a sizable portion of the population. The trial is expected to test two formulations of self-amplifying mRNA targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and other parts of the virus, to generate antibody and T-cell responses.<\/p>\n

“Covid-19 variants are already rendering some of our vaccines less effective,” notes Richard Hatchett<\/a>, CEPI’s CEO in an organization statement<\/a>, “so it is critical that we don\u2019t let our guard down. We must continue to invest in critical vaccine R&D if we are to stay one step ahead of this deadly virus.”<\/p>\n

CEPI is also a major supporter of the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access or Covax Facility<\/a> that aims to provide worldwide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Gritstone agreed to make its Coral vaccine available to Covax, if shown to be safe and effective.<\/p>\n

More from Science & Enterprise:<\/p>\n