(Alliance News) - GlaxoSmithKline PLC on Tuesday said it is collaborating with Canada-based pharmaceutical company Medicago to develop and evaluate a Covid-19 vaccine candidate and it also it announced positive results from a study assessing a drug for the prevention of HIV.
The Brentford, England-headquartered pharmaceutical firm said the candidate combines its pandemic adjuvant system with Medicago's recombinant coronavirus virus-like particles which mimic the structure of the virus thereby allowing them to be recognised by the immune system.
Glaxo said preclinical results of the vaccine candidate showed a high level of neutralizing antibodies following a single dose when administered with adjuvant.
Phase 1 clinical testing is planned to start in mid-July and will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of three different dose levels of antigen combined with GSK's adjuvant compared with an adjuvant from another company.
Subject to successful clinical development and regulatory approvals, the companies aim to complete development and make the vaccine available in the first half of 2021. They will also evaluate expanding their collaboration to develop a post-pandemic vaccine Covid-19 candidate should the need arise based on the further development of the virus after the pandemic.
Medicago's plant-based production platform will be used to manufacture the Covid-19 vaccine antigen, with 100 million doses expected to be manufactured by the end of 2021. By the end of 2023, a facility under construction in Quebec City, Canada is expected to deliver up to 1 billion doses annually.
"This agreement paves the way for an innovative vaccine option combining a scalable plant-based antigen technology with an adjuvant which has pandemic dose sparing capability. If successful, it will be a meaningful contributor in the fight against Covid-19. We strongly believe that multiple vaccines are needed, including post-pandemic vaccines. This plant-based technology also shows promise beyond Covid-19 and has the potential to help prevent other infectious diseases," said Thomas Breuer, chief medical officer of GSK Vaccines.
In a separate statement, Glaxo said final data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network 083 study run by ViiV Healthcare shows investigational, long-acting injectable cabotegravir administered every two months is 66% more effective than daily pills in preventing HIV-1.
ViiV Healthcare is a specialist HIV company majority owned by GSK.
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline were trading 2.5% lower at 1,606.20 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London and 9.6% lower than at the start of the year.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com.
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