Immunity without antibodies

Covid T-cell Activating vaccine to undergo clinical trials

Anastasia Kuznetsova-Fantoni, N+1

Clinical trials of a coronavirus vaccine generating a T-cell response without the formation of antibodies will be held in Switzerland. This was reported on on its website, the company Emergex, which developed the drug. The vaccine will be made in the form of a patch with microneedles and will create a more durable and resistant to coronavirus mutations immunity. The study will cover 26 people and will test the effectiveness of different dosages of the drug.

Existing coronavirus vaccines trigger the production of antibodies that neutralize the coronavirus. In addition, they activate T-lymphocytes, although this is not their original task, which provides additional protection. Over time, the number of antibodies decreases, so the effectiveness of vaccines weakens. The protection of T-cells is more long-term, since they retain the memory of meeting with the coronavirus in the form of a population of T-lymphocytes targeting coronavirus antigens.

Since 2016, the British company Emergex has started developing vaccines that generate only a cellular immune response. Scientists have created vaccines against influenza, Zika and Ebola. With the onset of the covid pandemic, she switched to a coronavirus vaccine built on the same principle. The composition of the drug includes gold particles coated with proteins and triggering the response of CD8+ T-lymphocytes. The vaccine uses conservative coronavirus antigens to make its protection resistant to mutations.

On November 15, Switzerland approved clinical trials of the drug, which will begin in January 2022. The vaccine will be delivered to patients using a patch with microneedles. This form of administration allows it to be stored at room temperature for three months. The effectiveness and safety of the drug will be tested in clinical trials with two groups of volunteers of 13 people: the drug will be administered to them in different dosages.

Scientists expect to start mass production of the vaccine by 2025. The process will turn out to be so long due to the fact that regulators canceled the exemptions for the approval of vaccines introduced due to the pandemic. Doctors believe that the drug can be a good addition to existing vaccines, including when combining different drugs. So the immune response will be stronger and more durable.

In addition to injectable drugs, they want to connect vaccines aimed at mucosal immunity, that is, mucosal immunity, to the fight against coronavirus. Read more about how such vaccines work and how effective they are in the material "We will introduce orally".

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