An oral subunit vaccine against COVID-19 showed promising results as a booster for previously vaccinated people in preclinical trials.
The MigVax-101 oral subunit vaccine under development by MigVax Ltd. (Qiryat Shmona, Israel) was administered in a booster format, following an injected S1 protein in tests performed on rats. The vaccine elicited markedly higher neutralizing antibody titers than in rats that received an oral placebo booster. Also, similar to a third booster injection, it elicited more effective neutralizing antibodies.
MigVax-101 is a new oral subunit vaccine that uses a chimeric protein to generate three types of simultaneous immune responses: mucosal, blood, and cell-mediated immunity. This triple-arm approach provides comprehensive protection against infection by activating all arms of the immune system, enabling effective eradication of the invading virus. Its epitopes were designed using computational chemistry of immunogenic epitopes in IBV, MERS, SARS-COV and SARS-COV-2, focusing on neutralizing antibodies and promoting an immune response.
As an oral vaccine, Mig-Vax-101 offers significant potential advantages over current first-generation injected vaccines, such as ease of administration, ability to address new variants, delivery of mucosal immunity, and ease of transport and storage. MigVax is currently seeking the necessary funding to launch Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, which, if successful, it believes would lead to commercial availability 9-12 months after the trials begin.
“The results of this trial increase our confidence that our oral subunit vaccine, MigVax-101, will make a positive contribution to a world facing the new post-pandemic reality,” said Professor, Itamar Shalit, infectious disease expert from MigVax. “Fifteen months after the pandemic, we now see that the fight to keep Covid under control is almost as challenging as getting it under control to begin with. Oral reinforcements such as our MigVax-101 will be key enablers helping healthcare organizations around the world go from ‘panic mode’ to routine, due to their ability to reduce cost and expand the reach of health care programs. ongoing vaccination ”.
Related link:
MigVax Ltd.
– .
