Status: December 6th, 2021 1:29 p.m.
Bavarian Nordic became known for vaccines against smallpox and Ebola. Now the German-Danish biotech company is working on a booster vaccine against corona in Munich. The study results are promising.
When will the next corona vaccines be on the market? The list of candidates is long. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) there are currently 128 vaccines in development.
There are also other hopes in Germany, the home of Corona pioneer BioNTech. The German-Danish biotech forge with the melodious name Bavarian Nordic is working on a universal booster vaccine against Corona.
Promising study results
The study results so far of the drug called ABNCov2 are promising. Phase II, which started at the beginning of August, showed a massive increase in antibodies against all corona variants such as alpha, beta and delta, it said on Monday. The only thing that has not yet been tested against the new Omikron variant.
According to Hubertus Hochrein, head of the research department, the number of neutralizing antibodies in the phase I study was even higher than in the Comirnaty vaccine from BioNTech / Pfizer. However, the data are not very meaningful, since only 42 people took part in the study at the time at Radboud University in Nijmegen. Only the tolerability and safety of the vaccine were tested on them.
Phase II, which the vaccine is currently going through, is much more representative. Several hundred subjects will be tested in the clinical study. In Berlin and Hamburg it is being investigated how effective the vaccine is and what the optimal dosage should be.
The trick with the wrong virus
The Bavarian Nordic process relies on virus-like particles. It uses protein components to create a structure that looks like a supposed virus to the immune system. The body reacts as if it were dealing with a real virus and quickly makes antibodies that work on the spike protein. If a person is infected with the coronavirus, they already have the appropriate antibodies and can fight off the virus.
What is an “escape variant”?
Variants such as the omicron mutant of the corona virus are caused by mutations. All viruses are constantly mutating; thus they adapt to the host and the conditions. Such mutations arise randomly and can affect the transmissibility or the immune defense of the host.
In the case of so-called escape variants (the English word “escape” means “escape”), the mutated virus variant partially or, in the worst case, completely evades the vaccine. Neutralizing antibodies attach to certain points on the spike protein. If these docking sites change, however, the antibodies can no longer attach there and fight off the virus. As a result, both vaccinated people and genesis can get sick with the new variant.
However, since the human immune system has a triple line of defense – consisting of antibodies, phagocytes and T cells – in most cases there is still protection against the severe course of the disease. Because even if the virus overcomes the antibodies, in the further course of the immune defense, first the eating cells and then the T cells switch on and prevent the pathogen from spreading further. It is unlikely that an escape variant will overcome all three lines of defense in the human immune system.
Possible approval probably only in 2023
It will be a long time before the booster vaccine comes onto the market. After the completion of phase II, the decisive phase III should start in the middle of next year with several thousand test persons. “There are still a lot of risks,” admits Research Director Hochrein. He hopes the drug will be approved by 2023.
In any case, the money to finance the important phase III is there. The Danish government recently pledged 100 million euros in funding. Head of research Hochrein believes that the corona vaccine market is far from saturated. He expects a permanently necessary vaccination against Covid. “We will probably have to boost again and again at intervals – as with other diseases,” he predicted in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
Experience with smallpox and Ebola vaccines
One advantage is that a syringe with the product from Bavarian Nordic would suffice as a booster after an initial immunization with other vaccines. The vaccine belongs to the category of classic dead vaccines. The vaccine is being developed in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich. Numerous biotech companies cavort there, including MorphoSys.
Bavarian Nordic has been familiar with vaccines for years. The company developed a new smallpox vaccine for the United States in 2003 and shipped a good 20 million doses for $ 1.6 billion. Several million cans were also sold to the federal government. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, fear of an attack with biological weapons prevailed, especially in the USA.
In addition, the German-Danish biotech company worked on a vaccine against Ebola in 2014. Together with Johnson & Johnson, Bavarian Nordic developed a vaccine. During the last major Ebola outbreak a few years ago, thousands of people died of the disease in West Africa.
Bavarian Nordic has already received considerable advance praise on the stock exchange. The stock has gained over 70 percent in the past two years. The investment bank Jefferies today recommended the vaccine developer for purchase after positive signals from the Phase II study.