8 July 2020
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has partnered with Canadian biopharmaceutical firm Medicago to develop, assess and manufacture a plant-based adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine candidate. As part of the collaboration, GSK’s pandemic adjuvant system will be combined with Medicago’s recombinant Coronavirus Virus-Like Particles (CoVLP). The companies expect to complete development and make the vaccine available in the first half of next year.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has received a $450m contract from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and the Department of Defense to manufacture and supply its antibody cocktail, REGN-COV2, designed to act against Covid-19. The company has already started scaling up the therapy’s production and this contract is intended to enable continued manufacturing.
Corvus Pharmaceuticals has launched a Phase I clinical trial to assess a new immunotherapy, which is designed as an agonistic humanised monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. The first cohort of five participants in the trial was treated at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. A total of up to 30 patients will be enrolled at various sites in the US.
7 Hills Pharma has reported that its oral immunostimulant candidate, 7HP349, significantly increased IgG binding antibodies with a Covid-19 vaccine candidate in preclinical studies. The company added that 7HP349 enhances a vaccine’s effectiveness, as well as accelerates immune system response. The immunostimulant can be used with any Covid-19 vaccine, added 7 Hills Pharma.
