Intravacc goes ahead with production of protein-based Covid-19 vaccine

Intravacc and Celonic Group will further design, develop, and produce a Covid-19 vaccine based on an immunogenic Spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2. The product is combined with Intravacc’s proprietary Outer Membrane Vesicle (OMV) technology.

Intravacc is a global leader in translational research and the development of viral and bacterial vaccines. Celonic Group is, a premium biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), specialized in the development and production of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP) and mammalian cell lines expressed bio-therapeutics.

In the beginning of March this year Intravacc started working on the development of four candidate coronavirus vaccines based on three proprietary technologies: Vero cell, OMV, and iBoost.

Read more on Intravacc’s research here

For this specific joint vaccine development, Intravacc combines its immunogenic OMV delivery platform with S-proteins expressed by Celonic Group’s CHOvolution mammalian cell expression system. This should result in generating an effective and balanced B and T cell response against SARS-CoV-2. Swiss-based Celonic Group will construct cell lines producing the  S-protein in high quantities and develop a GMP production process.

Preclinical studies will start shortly to select the best candidate protein for the vaccine. The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of Intravacc’s COVID-19 OMV protein vaccine, which is expected to enter clinical testing in 2021.

Dr. Jan Groen, Intravacc’s Chief Executive Officer of Intravcc claims that several studies have shown that OMVs have the ability to enhance the immune response and can be formulated with target-specific peptides and proteins. “This, combined with the fact they can be quickly scaled-up for manufacturing, makes it an ideally suited platform under the current circumstances where quantity and speed are critical.”

Dr. Konstantin Matentzoglu, Chief Executive Officer of Celonic, adds that the novel vaccine has the potential to prevent morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. “Together, we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of patients at this time of great need.”