Photo: (Volker Weihbold)
A cheap Covid-19 vaccine developed by Austrian researchers working in New York is proving to be promising, according to an analysis presented in the journal Science Translational Medicine. As part of a clinical study carried out in Thailand, the test persons who received the new vector vaccine “NDV-HXP-S” built up a high antibody level that was comparable to that of people who received the Biontech-Pfizer vaccine.
The team from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York led by Peter Palese, who was born in Upper Austria, the Austrian virologist Florian Krammer and the working group of Adolfo Garcia-Sastre set about developing a vaccine early on in the course of the Covid 19 pandemic , which is said to cost less than a dollar a dose. To do this, the scientists chose a classic route in vaccine development and production.
Vaccination by nasal spray
“NDV-HXP-S” is a vaccine in which a version of the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen is introduced into the body via another virus. For their vector vaccine, the researchers use the “Newcastle Disease Virus” (NDV), which causes the atypical avian influenza primarily in chickens, but is not dangerous for humans.
The vaccine, which can also be administered nasally, has been tested in the USA, Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand and Brazil for some time. Tests run with two vaccine variants, a live vaccine and one with inactivated, modified NDV viruses, the scientists write in the work. In the phase I study in Thailand, 210 volunteers received either the inactivated vaccine or a placebo. The scientists then analyzed the blood of the participants for antibody levels and compared it with that of people who were vaccinated in New York with the Biontech-Pfizer vaccine.
“Focused Immune Response”
According to the further analysis of the clinical study, the number of antibodies and the SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing activity in the blood of the people vaccinated with the “NDV-HXP-S” vaccine were “comparable” with those of people who received the Biontech -Pfizer mRNA vaccine, according to the researchers led by study lead author Juan Manuel Carreño. The antibodies built up by the new vaccine mostly attacked the receptor-binding domain, i.e. the region on the spike protein with which the virus docks to human cells. In contrast to the immune reaction built up with mRNA vaccines, in which antibodies dock to several spike protein regions, the vaccine entails a “very focused immune response”.
Lower cost, easier to manufacture
The great advantage of the vaccine lies in the fact that it – like most influenza vaccines – can be produced in chicken eggs. Since this type of production is less expensive than the production of mRNA vaccines, the “NDV-HXP-S” vaccine can be produced more easily in less developed countries.
The lower costs also make the vaccine attractive for countries with lower average incomes, as Palese and Krammer have repeatedly emphasized in the past. Especially in economically less developed countries, the availability of affordable corona vaccines is often still not in good order. “NDV-HXP-S” could help here. Another plus point is the possibility of nasal administration, which should lead to better protection in the upper respiratory tract and less virus transmission. In addition, the vaccine does not have to be kept frozen, the scientists now write.
Source: Nachrichten
