BioVaxys Technology Corp said it has filed a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its haptenized viral antigen vaccine platform to elicit a broad cross-reactive immune response against most sarbecoviruses — the family of coronaviruses that includes SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
The Vancouver-based biotech company plans on leveraging its invention to immunize people who have either recovered from a COVID-19 infection, or have been fully vaccinated.
“Our approach could constitute a pan-sarbecovirus vaccine that would protect humans against a very dangerous subgroup of coronavirus that could emerge from the wild and cause as much devastation as COVID-19,” said David Berd, chief medical officer of BioVaxys in a statement.
A recently published study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) evaluated individuals who had built immunity against SARS-Cov-1 which broke out in 2003, and those who have received mRNA vaccine.
READ: BioVaxys to present a poster on its coronavirus vaccine candidate BVX-0320 at ISIRV-WHO virtual conference
The study revealed that the participants gained neutralizing antibodies not only to fight SARS-CoV1 and SARS-CoV2, but also to fight other sarbecoviruses including zoonotic sarbecoviruses that hold potential risk for pandemics. The company accredited the cross-reactivity to similarities in the S-spike protein.
“There have been over 217 million recoveries following confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6.6 billion doses have been given of Covid-19 vaccine,” said James Passin, Biovaxys CEO.
He added: “This total target population of almost 4 billion people represents a massive commercial opportunity for proposed our pan-sarbecovirus booster vaccine, which has the potential to confer cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies, not only against all COVID-19 variants, but future emerging dangerous zoonotic sarbecoviruses.”
BioVaxys is developing a viral and oncology vaccine platform, as well as immuno-diagnostics. Besides furthering its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine based on its haptenized viral protein technology, the company is also preparing for a clinical trial of its haptenized autologous cell vaccine used in combination with anti-PD1 and anti-PDL-1 checkpoint inhibitors that will initially be developed for Stage III/Stage IV ovarian cancer.
Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com