Safety trials are underway for a Cambridge-led vaccine that could be used as a booster targeting COVID-19 virus variants and relatives that threaten future coronavirus pandemics. The first volunteer is expected to receive the vaccine today at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility.
Developed by Professor Jonathan Heeney at the University of Cambridge and spin-out company DIOSynVax, this is a next generation coronavirus vaccine administered through a needle-free ‘injection’ – a blast of air that delivers it into the skin. This offers a possible future alternative to people who fear needle-based jabs. If successful, it could be scaled up and manufactured as a powder to boost global vaccination efforts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Professor Heeney said “The response of the scientific and medical communities to the development and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines has been incredible, but as new variants emerge and immunity begins to wane we need newer technologies. It’s vital that we continue to develop new generation vaccine candidates ready to help keep us safe from the next virus threats.
“Our vaccine is innovative, both in terms of the way it primes the immune system to respond with a broader protective response to coronaviruses, and how it is delivered. Crucially, it is the first step towards a universal coronavirus vaccine we are developing, protecting us not just from COVID-19 variants but from future coronaviruses.”
The first trials of DIOS-CoVax are being delivered by the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility (CRF). The trial team are calling for healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 50 in the Southampton area. Participants must have had both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, but not their booster.
Professor Saul Faust, Clinical Chief Investigator and Director of the NIHR Southampton CRF, said: “This isn’t simply ‘yet another’ coronavirus vaccine as it has both COVID-19 variants and future coronaviruses in its sights. This technology could give wide-ranging protection to huge numbers of people worldwide.
“The people of Southampton and Hampshire have stepped up time and again to help find the vaccines that have unlocked the pandemic. We’re asking for their help again in developing this potentially game-changing vaccine.”
The phase I vaccine trial in Southampton will follow up volunteers for approximately 12 months to ensure it is safe. Payment will be provided for time and travel across 11 visits. Contact UHS.recruitmentCRF@nhs.net or call 0238 120 4989 for further details.