Hyderabad company, University of Philadelphia ink deal to accelerate work on novel vaccine against Coronavirus

NEW DELHI: Hyderabad-based vaccine innovator Bharat Biotech and Thomas Jefferson University of Philadelphia have signed a deal to accelerate the work on a vaccine candidate for Covid-19 that was developed at the US varsity.
The novel vaccine was developed using an existing deactivated rabies vaccine as a vehicle for coronavirus protein. This is because the vehicle or carrier vaccine is known to produce a strong immune response and that has been proven safe for all people, including children and pregnant women.
The vaccine, which was developed in January, has recently completed preliminary tests in animal models where the vaccine showed a strong antibody response. The researchers are testing whether vaccinated animals are protected from SARS-CoV-2 infection with results expected next month.
Infectious disease expert Prof Matthias Schnell, who chairs Jefferson’s department of microbiology and immunology, says, "Our partnership with Bharat Biotech will accelerate our vaccine candidate through the next phases of development. We will be able to complete animal testing and move to phase-1 clinical trial rapidly."
Besides the new assignment, the Hyderabad company is already working on an indigenous vaccine project in partnership with ICMR and is also developing a nasal vaccine, CoroFlu, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin, Madison (US). Its CEO Dr Krishna Mohan Ella says, "In view of the imminent demand for an effective vaccine, Bharat Biotech is pleased to collaborate with Thomas Jefferson towards developing a new vaccine for Covid-19 using an inactivated rabies vector platform. We are particularly excited about this technology since the basic proof of concept has been established while using it for other pandemic infectious diseases."
With support from the department of biotechnology, Bharat Biotech aims to get into human trials as soon as December. Of the 90 Covid-19 vaccines under development around the world, 25% of them use an established vaccine to act as a "carrier" or vector for the target virus. In this case, Bharat Biotech is using coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.
Under the agreement, the Hyderabad company gains exclusive rights to develop, market and deliver Jefferson’s vaccine across the world, excluding countries such as the US, Europe, Japan, where Jefferson continues to seek partners.