* CureVac, GSK announced collaboration in Feb
* New mRNA specifically targets coronavirus variants
* GSK looking for reset after Sanofi, Clover setbacks
By Alistair Smout
LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - A second-generation COVID-19
vaccine developed by CureVac and GlaxoSmithKline
, designed to protect against coronavirus variants,
produced a high level of immune response in a trial in rats, the
companies said on Thursday.
CureVac in February said it would team up with
GlaxoSmithKline on a COVID-19 vaccine aimed at targeting several
variants with one shot.
The shot uses messenger RNA technology, similar to
successful vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and
Moderna, and clinical trials of the shot in humans are
expected to start in the third quarter of this year.
The mRNA "backbone" of the shot differs from CureVac's first
COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and it is designed to work well at
lower doses.
Rats immunised with the shot, called CV2CoV, showed quick,
strong immune responses, the companies said, and blood serum
"showed significant cross-neutralization against variants first
discovered in Denmark (B.1.1.298), the UK (B.1.1.7) and South
Africa (B.1.351)."
"To successfully fight the COVID-19 pandemic in the long
term, we will need different vaccines and we need to be able to
respond effectively to emerging variants," GSK Global Vaccines
President Roger Connor said.
"We are pleased with these pre-clinical results as they show
the potential of the next generation mRNA technology we are
developing together with CureVac."
Although human trials are yet to start, these results mark a
boost for GSK, the world's largest vaccine maker by sales.
GSK's collaboration with CureVac is a fresh attempt to play
a major role in fighting the pandemic after a COVID-19 shot with
Sanofi ran into delays and a collaboration with
China's Clover Biopharmaceuticals was ended.
GSK, which acquired a 10% stake in CureVac last year, will
also support the production of up to 100 million doses of
CureVac's first-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
CureVac's first generation COVID-19 vaccine is already in
late-stage clinical trials.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)