Covid-19: a nasal vaccine soon to be manufactured in Toulouse
The 100% French nasal vaccine against Covid-19 is moving up a gear. A start-up has been created and will be responsible for operating the solution, which should be published this semester in a pharmaceutical laboratory in Toulouse, Bioways.
The vaccine needle will soon be reinstated by an injection into the nose. Since June 2020, the BioMAP research team from Inrae-University of Tours has been involved in the development of a nasal vaccine against Covid-19. This Thursday, December 20, this development of a 100% French protein vaccine has just reached a new stage: the creation of a start-up responsible for the development and operation of the solution, announced INRAE during a press conference.
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Indeed, new preclinical results have allowed this new step. They were obtained with the Delta variant this winter, and demonstrated the robustness of the vaccine, which blocks any contagiousness of Covid-19.
The French start-up, LoValtech, was therefore able to see the light of day, and from this Thursday holds an exclusive license to use the patent relating to the vaccine worldwide, granted by the University of Tours and INRAE.
It is this start-up that will pilot the trials in humans, which should lead to marketing authorization for the vaccine at the end of August 2023, or even the beginning of 2024. The vaccine should be produced this semester by the Bioways company, based in Toulouse.
“This project can contribute to the exit from the pandemic crisis”
According to Inrae and the University of Tours, the added value of this vaccine lies in its ability to cut transmission between individuals, by acting directly on the nasal mucosa. In the laboratory, preclinical tests have made it possible to check the effectiveness of the vaccine after two nasal immunizations spaced three weeks apart.
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At the end of 2021, other preclinical tests of this vaccine based on viral proteins, encapsulated in nanoparticles based on starch and lipids, had shown “very positive” results on mice and hamsters golden. These trials had validated its effectiveness against Delta.
“The vaccine, consisting of the Spike protein and non-mutated viral proteins, can therefore protect against the strain of SARS-CoV2 currently circulating despite the multiple mutations” says Inrae in a press release.
“This project can contribute to emerging from the pandemic crisis, subject to compliance with a tight schedule and sufficient external investment,” the experts announced.