A vaccine on the horizon?
F rom Sophia Yan in Beijing:
China’s Tianjin University said on Tuesday that it had developed an oral vaccine to protect against the coronavirus and is seeking partners to conduct clinical trials, according to Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times.
Huang Jinhai, the professor leading the project, has taken four doses without experiencing side effects. Vaccine samples produced as capsules and tablets are aimed at improving the immunity of mucosal tissues, such as nasal, oral and ocular. It could also serve as a potential therapy for those already infected.
The oral vaccine uses an yeast cell known as saccharomyces cerevisiae, safe for human consumption, as a carrier to target the so-called “spike” protein in the coronavirus, the protein used to invade human cells, causing an infection . These proteins are unique to different viruses.
Just days ago, scientists mapped the molecular structure of the relevant “spike” protein in the novel coronavirus spreading worldwide, a key breakthrough in figuring out how to target the disease.
Moderna, a clinical-stage biotech firm in Massachusetts, announced Monday that it had shipped its first batch of vaccines to the U.S. National Institutes of Health for testing. The Massachusetts-based company has also worked on vaccines for the influenza virus H7N9 and Zika.
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