A potential vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has announced by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
The peer-reviewed science that appeared in EBioMedicine was published by The Lancet shows the vaccine was tested on mice and produces antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2. This is the first study published after being critiqued by fellow scientists.
The researchers developed a new way to deliver the vaccine, a dissolvable microneedle array, which delivers the vaccine antigen directly into the skin. Applied similarly to a Band-Aid or a plaster, the small fingertip sized patch consists of 400 microneedles that make up a very potent vaccine.
Louis Falo a Professor and Chair of Dermatology at Pitt’s School of Medicine describes the method:
We developed this to build on the original scratch method used to deliver the smallpox vaccine to the skin, but as a high-tech version that is more efficient and reproducible patient to patient. It’s actually pretty painless—it feels kind of like Velcro.
Andrea Gambotto M.D. is an Associate Professor from the Pitt School of Medicine and co-senior author, who talked about the importance of research funding and how that played a direct role in this vaccine:
We had previous experience on SARS-CoV in 2003 and MERS-CoV in 2014. These two viruses, which are closely related to SARS-CoV-2, teach us that a particular protein, called a spike protein, is important for inducing immunity against the virus. We knew exactly where to fight this new virus. That’s why it’s important to fund vaccine research. You never know where the next pandemic will come from.
The new vaccine is also scalable and does not require refrigeration. Stackable protein pieces can multiply yields using a “cell factory” for manufacturing when layers of cultured cells are engineered to express the SARS-CoV2 spike protein. A centrifuge is used to spin the protein-sugar mixture into a mold for distribution.
Gambotto talked about the scalability:Â “For most vaccines, you don’t need to address scalability, to begin with, but when you try to develop a vaccine quickly against a pandemic that’s the first requirement.”
The Pittsburgh CoronaVirus Vaccine is being called PittCoVacc by the scientists and co-authors, has shown promising results in the mice tested. The vaccine produced a surge in antibodies to fight against the SARS-CoV-2 within 2 weeks of being administered.
The researchers estimate that the mice who were treated produced enough antibodies to neutralize the virus for at least one year. The microneedle vaccine also maintains its potency when sterilized with gamma radiation that’s necessary in order to administer to humans.
Falo discusses the timeline for human trials:
Testing in patients would typically require at least a year and probably longer. This particular situation is different from anything we’ve ever seen, so we don’t know how long the clinical development process will take. Recently announced revisions to the normal processes suggest we may be able to advance this faster.
The team is hopeful this process will move along within a few months. They are currently applying to the Food and Drug Administration for an investigational new drug (IND) approval so trials can begin quickly.
