Clinical trials for vaccine due to start

A candidate vaccine for the novel coronavirus is expected to enter clinical trials next month, city official Zhang Quan told a press conference on Monday.

At present, researchers are carrying out toxicity tests of the mRNA vaccine on primates to gauge its safety and effectiveness. Clinical trials are expected to start in the middle of April, according to Zhang, director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission.

City researchers have also made progress on the development of another candidate, VLP vaccine. In lab testing, mice produced a special antibody, he said.

The mRNA vaccine was co-developed by Shanghai-based Stemirna Therapeutics and Shanghai East Hospital, just two weeks after scientists isolated the first novel coronavirus strain on January 24.

The mRNA vaccine is a promising alternative to conventional vaccine approaches, the company’s president Li Hangwen told thepaper.cn in an earlier interview.

Researchers designed the vaccine based on the genetic sequence of the virus. They can directly modify RNA in vitro and inject it into body, and then cells can automatically produce antigen protein in the body. Conventional vaccine approaches take researchers several months to make antigen protein first.

For instance, flu vaccine put on the shelves in 2020 was made in 2019 as the manufacturing period lasts five to six months. “If we use the new-generation mRNA technology to make flu vaccine, it would take cost 40 days,” Li said.

However, RNA degrades easily, and it needs to be wrapped around to remain stable, Li said, adding that the company had developed a unique way to ensure its effectiveness and the technique was patented worldwide in 2017.

According to the commission, the VLP vaccine is now being researched at the Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, the first international institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

VLP is virus-like particles. It is not infectious and does no harm to humans, and instead it can induce immune responses which can help protect people from being infected.