American biotech firm Novavax said on May 10 (2021) that it had positive results from preclinical studies of a shot combining its influenza and Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
The study, now on a preprint server and awaiting peer review, showed that the shot produced strong levels of antibodies against both diseases in ferrets and hamsters.
“Despite low rates during the Covid-19 pandemic, influenza remains a significant risk to global public health and the need for versatile, more effective vaccines is as important as ever, including against the flu,” said the company’s research and development president Gregory Glenn.
The new vaccine combines NanoFlu and NVX-CoV2373, which are separately in late-stage human trials.
Neither have yet been approved.
Hamsters that were vaccinated and then deliberately infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus retained their body weight compared to those that received a placebo.
Lung samples taken from the immunised animals after they were put down showed that they were free from Covid-19.
NVX-CoV2373, the company’s Covid-19 vaccine candidate, demonstrated 100% protection against severe disease in a phase 3 clinical trial in the United Kingdom, with 89.7% efficacy against the disease as a whole.
The vaccine uses a piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus called the spike protein, which the company mass produces inside insect cells.
The spike protein is packaged inside nanoparticles and delivered to the immune system, which then trains the host to produce antibodies against the virus.
The vaccine also contains a substance called an adjuvant to deliver a stronger signal to the immune system to respond.
NanoFlu, the company’s flu vaccine, is based on similar principles, but instead of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, it presents haemagglutinin – a protein on the outside of the influenza virus – to the immune system. – AFP Relaxnews
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