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The NIH-funded adjuvant improves the efficacy of India’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Posted in Allergy and Infectious Diseases, CEOs of Biotech Companies, coronavirus, COVID-19, Drug Development Process, Immunology, Infectious Disease Immunodiagnostics, Mechanisms of infection by SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-2 circulating variants , SARS-CoV-2 Viral Variants, Viral diseases, Virology, tagged Antibodies, COVID Vaccine, COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Treatment, infection, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH, vaccine adjuvant platorm technology, vaccine development on July 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

The NIH-funded adjuvant improves the efficacy of India’s COVID-19 vaccine.

Curator and Reporter: Dr. Premalata Pati, Ph.D., Postdoc

WordCloud Image Produced by Adam Tubman

Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Part of National Institute of Health (NIH) said,

Ending a global pandemic demands a global response. I am thrilled that a novel vaccine adjuvant developed in the United States with NIAID support is now included in an effective COVID-19 vaccine that is available to individuals in India.”

**Image Source:**https://www.bharatbiotech.com/

Adjuvants are components that are created as part of a vaccine to improve immune responses and increase the efficiency of the vaccine. COVAXIN was developed and is manufactured in India, which is currently experiencing a terrible health catastrophe as a result of COVID-19. An adjuvant designed with NIH funding has contributed to the success of the extremely effective COVAXIN-COVID-19 vaccine, which has been administered to about 25 million individuals in India and internationally.

Alhydroxiquim-II is the adjuvant utilized in COVAXIN, was discovered and validated in the laboratory by the biotech company ViroVax LLC of Lawrence, Kansas, with funding provided solely by the NIAID Adjuvant Development Program. The adjuvant is formed of a small molecule that is uniquely bonded to Alhydrogel, often known as alum and the most regularly used adjuvant in human vaccines. Alhydroxiquim-II enters lymph nodes, where it detaches from alum and triggers two cellular receptors. TLR7 and TLR8 receptors are essential in the immunological response to viruses. Alhydroxiquim-II is the first adjuvant to activate TLR7 and TLR8 in an approved vaccine against an infectious disease. Additionally, the alum in Alhydroxiquim-II activates the immune system to look for an infiltrating pathogen.

Although molecules that activate TLR receptors strongly stimulate the immune system, the adverse effects of Alhydroxiquim-II are modest. This is due to the fact that after COVAXIN is injected, the adjuvant travels directly to adjacent lymph nodes, which contain white blood cells that are crucial in recognizing pathogens and combating infections. As a result, just a minimal amount of Alhydroxiquim-II is required in each vaccination dosage, and the adjuvant does not circulate throughout the body, avoiding more widespread inflammation and unwanted side effects.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round gold particles) emerging from the surface of a cell cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, is the virus that causes COVID-19. Image Source: **NIAID**

COVAXIN is made up of a crippled version of SARS-CoV-2 that cannot replicate but yet encourages the immune system to produce antibodies against the virus. The NIH stated that COVAXIN is “safe and well tolerated,” citing the results of a phase 2 clinical investigation. COVAXIN safety results from a Phase 3 trial with 25,800 participants in India will be released later this year. Meanwhile, unpublished interim data from the Phase 3 trial show that the vaccine is 78% effective against symptomatic sickness, 100% effective against severe COVID-19, including hospitalization, and 70% effective against asymptomatic infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Two tests of blood serum from persons who had received COVAXIN suggest that the vaccine creates antibodies that efficiently neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617 (Delta) variants (1) and (2), which were originally identified in the United Kingdom and India, respectively.

Since 2009, the NIAID Adjuvant Program has supported the research of ViroVax’s founder and CEO, Sunil David, M.D., Ph.D. His research has focused on the emergence of new compounds that activate innate immune receptors and their application as vaccination adjuvants.

Dr. David’s engagement with Bharat Biotech International Ltd. of Hyderabad, which manufactures COVAXIN, began during a 2019 meeting in India organized by the NIAID Office of Global Research under the auspices of the NIAID’s Indo-US Vaccine Action Program. Five NIAID-funded adjuvant investigators, including Dr. David, two representatives of the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation, and the NIAID India representative, visited 4 top biotechnology companies to learn about their work and discuss future collaborations. The delegation also attended a consultation in New Delhi, which was co-organized by the NIAID and India’s Department of Biotechnology and hosted by the National Institute of Immunology.

Among the scientific collaborations spawned by these endeavors was a licensing deal between Bharat Biotech and Dr. David to use Alhydroxiquim-II in their candidate vaccines. During the COVID-19 outbreak, this license was expanded to cover COVAXIN, which has Emergency Use Authorization in India and more than a dozen additional countries. COVAXIN was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology. The company conducted thorough safety research on Alhydroxiquim-II and undertook the arduous process of scaling up production of the adjuvant in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice standards. Bharat Biotech aims to generate 700 million doses of COVAXIN by the end of 2021.

NIAID conducts and supports research at the National Institutes of Health, across the United States, and across the world to better understand the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases and to develop better methods of preventing, detecting, and treating these illnesses. The NIAID website contains news releases, info sheets, and other NIAID-related materials.

Main Source:

https://www.miragenews.com/adjuvant-developed-with-nih-funding-enhances-587090/

References

Other Related Articles published in this Open Access Online Scientific Journal include the following:

Comparing COVID-19 Vaccine Schedule Combinations, or “Com-COV” – First-of-its-Kind Study will explore the Impact of using eight different Combinations of Doses and Dosing Intervals for Different COVID-19 Vaccines

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2021/02/08/comparing-covid-19-vaccine-schedule-combinations-or-com-cov-first-of-its-kind-study-will-explore-the-impact-of-using-eight-different-combinations-of-doses-and-dosing-intervals-for-diffe/

Thriving Vaccines and Research: Weizmann Institute Coronavirus Research Development

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https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2021/05/04/thriving-vaccines-and-research-weizmann-coronavirus-research-development/

National Public Radio interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci on his optimism on a COVID-19 vaccine by early 2021

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2020/07/19/national-public-radio-interview-with-dr-anthony-fauci-on-his-optimism-on-a-covid-19-vaccine-by-early-2021/

Cryo-EM disclosed how the D614G mutation changes SARS-CoV-2 spike protein structure

Reporter: Dr. Premalata Pati, Ph.D., Postdoc

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2021/04/10/cryo-em-disclosed-how-the-d614g-mutation-changes-sars-cov-2-spike-protein-structure/

Updates on the Oxford, AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

Reporter: Stephen J. Williams, PhD

https://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2020/06/16/updates-on-the-oxford-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine/

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Pharmaceutical Companies Racing Together to Find a Cure for COVID-19

Posted in Biomarkers & Medical Diagnostics, Diagnostics and Lab Tests, Innovation in Immunology Diagnostics, SARS-CoV-2, Treatment Protocols for COVID-19, Vaccinology, tagged anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hyperimmune globulin (H-IG), COVID-19 Treatment, diagnostics, interferon beta-1a, malaria drug, mRNA vaccine, Recombinant DNA, vaccine adjuvant platorm technology on April 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Pharmaceutical Companies Racing Together to Find a Cure for COVID-19

Reporter: Irina Robu, PhD

The global outbreak has put pressure on companies and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to act quickly to make medications available to patients. Several companies are working together to find solutions to treat those infected by the virus and prevent it from spreading.

AstraZeneca is responding to the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) outbreak to accelerate the development of its di diagnostic testing capabilities to scale-up screening and is also working in partnership with governments on existing screening programs to supplement testing. In addition, AstraZeneca is working to identify monoclonal antibodies to progress towards clinical trial evaluation as a treatment to prevent COVID-19.

Bayer, German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company is donating malaria drug, Resochin to the US government for possible use to treat COVID-19. Resochin, made of chloroquine phosphate is a current approve treatment for malaria. China is evaluating it for potential use of COVID-19 and presented decent effects against the first SARS virus in 2003. Doctors consider it a promising treatment for seriously ill coronavirus patients.

AbbVie is research-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing innovative advanced therapies for four primary therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, virology and neuroscience. The company declared plans to evaluate HIV medicine as COVID-19 treatment and go into partnerships with health authorities in various countries to explore the efficacy and antiviral activity of the medication.

Boehringer Ingelheim, research driven company is collaborating with the German Center for Infectious Research to develop therapies and diagnostic tools for COVID-19. Their research teams are screening their entire molecule library with more than one million compounds to identify novel small molecules with activity against the virus.

EMD Serono is the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, Germany donated interferon beta-1a to French Institute of National Health and Medical Research to use for a clinical trial. Interferon beta-1a is presently in use to treat multiple sclerosis and is under investigation as potential treatment for people with COVID-19 coronavirus disease caused by the SARS-nCoV-2 virus. When confronted with the virus, each cell shoots an emergency flare of interferon to tell the immune system to strengthen its defenses. The interferon beta1a cytokine activates macrophages that engulf antigens and natural killer cells, which are integral to innate immune system. The trial is subsidized by INSERM and its start has been announced by the French Health authorities on March 11. To date, Merck interferon beta-1a is not approved by any regulatory authority for the treatment of COVID-19 or for use as an antiviral agent.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) has been working to make vaccine using its established pandemic vaccine adjuvant platform technology available. Sanofi and GSK announced on April 14, 2020 they will collaborate to develop an adjuvanted vaccine for COVID-19, using innovative technology from both companies. Sanofi will donate its S-protein COVID-19 antigen, which is based on recombinant DNA technology. This technology gives an exact genetic match to proteins found on the surface of the virus and the DNA sequence encoding this antigen has been combined into the DNA of the baculovirus expression platform, the basis of Sanofi’s licensed recombinant influenza product in the US.GSK will contribute its proven pandemic adjuvant technology to the collaboration, since it may reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose, letting more vaccine doses to be produced and consequently contributing to protect more people.

JOHNSON & JOHNSON has started research into a vaccine, leveraging the same innovative technology used for Ebola vaccine. Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of J&J has donated medicines for use in laboratory-based investigations to support efforts in finding a resolution against COVID-19.

Eli Lilly entered into an agreement with AbCellera to co-develop antibody products for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. The collaboration will leverage AbCellera’s rapid pandemic response platform, established under the DARPA Pandemic Prevention Platform Program, along with Lilly’s global capabilities for rapid development, manufacturing and distribution of therapeutic antibodies. Eli Lilly has also entered an agreement with NIH, NIAID to study baricitinib as an arm in NIAID’s Adaptive COVID-19 treatment trial. Baricitinib, an oral JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor is accepted in more than 65 countries as a treatment for adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Because of the inflammatory cascade in COVID-19, baricitinib’s anti-inflammatory activity has been hypothesized to have a potential beneficial effect in COVID-19 and needs further study in patients with this infection. Eli Lilly is also using an investigational selective monoclonal antibody against Angiopoientin-2 to Phase 2 testing in pneumonia patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who are at higher risk of delveoping acute respiratory distress syndrome. The company will look whether inhibiting the effects of Angiopoientin-2 with monoclonal antibody which can reduce the progression of acute respiratory distress syndrome. The trial will start in April 2020.

Pfizer and BioNTech work together to develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine which aims to accelerate development of BioNTech’s potential first-in-class COVID-19 mRNA vaccine program, BNT162 . A clinical study is expected to start by the end of April 2020. The collaboration is a continuation of the original agreement in 2019 between the two companies to develop mRNA-based vaccines for prevention of influenza.

Roche, Canada has been designated as a participant in a Phase III clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of one of Roche’s portfolio medicines in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The company announced the future launch of its Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 serology test to detect antibodies in people who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 that causes the COVID-19 disease. Antibody testing is vital to help detect people who have been infected by the virus, particularly those who may have been infected but did not display symptoms. Furthermore, the test can support priority screening of high-risk groups who might by now have advanced a certain level of immunity and can continue serving and/or return to work.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company is initiating the development of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hyperimmune globulin (H-IG) to treat high-risk individuals with COVID-19, although also investigating whether Takeda’s currently marketed products may be effective treatments for infected patients. Hyperimmune globulins are plasma derived-therapies that have been effective in the treatment of severe acute viral respiratory infections and could be a treatment option for COVID-19. Takeda has the research expertise to develop and manufacture a potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal H-IG.

Takeda is presently in discussions with multiple national health and regulatory agencies and health care partners in the US, Asia, and Europe to expeditiously move the research into anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal H-IG forward. The research requires access to source plasma from people who have efficaciously recovered from COVID-19. The donors have developed antibodies to the virus that could possibly alleviate severity of illness in COVID-19 patients and perhaps prevent it. By transferring the antibodies to a new patient, it may help that person’s immune system respond to the infection and increase their chance of recovery. These efforts to find a vaccine are at an early stage nevertheless being given a high priority within the company.

SOURCE

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-nine-companies-are-working-on-coronavirus-treatments-or-vaccines-heres-where-things-stand-2020-03-06