Vaccitech: against COVID-19 Company
Entity: Vaccitech
Category: Vaccine Development
Description: Vaccitech is creating novel vaccines that elicit strong responses from helper and cytotoxic T-cells. Vaccitech is a spin-out company from the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, one of the oldest and most renowned vaccine research centers in the world. The company has been formed around two viral vector vaccines, one to prevent influenza and the other to treat prostate cancer. Viral vector vaccines are particularly good at treating some of the most recalcitrant illnesses. The underlying technology is built on years of experience perfecting viral vector vaccine technology across multiple indications. The company’s protected chimpanzee adenovirus technology is the best way to generate T-cell responses and thereby generate lasting cell-mediated immunity. The assets are already in the clinic with very promising initial results. The founders of the company are Professor Adrian Hill (Director of the Jenner Institute) and Professor Sarah Gilbert (Lead in influenza and MERS), who combine their exceptional scientific skills with regulatory and manufacturing experience. Vaccitech will begin a phase IIB efficacy study for a universal influenza vaccine in the over 65 population, and an extended phase I prostate cancer trial.
Project: ChAdOx platform
Summary: According to a new report, a million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by scientists in the UK are already being manufactured. The news, from Reuters, says that the doses will be available by September, making use of seven outsourced facilities. Oxford University's spin-out company Vaccitech have the rights to the platform technology used to develop this vaccine candidate. Bill Enright, CEO of Vaccitech, said: “We are delighted to facilitate this extensive collaboration in support of the development of the vaccine candidate in order to make it available as quickly as possible. We believe this vaccine candidate provides significant validation for our ChAdOx platform, which is one of the few to have already induced neutralising antibodies against coronavirus spike proteins in human studies for MERS. We are committed to doing all we can to support our scientific founders at the Jenner Institute in order to overcome this unprecedented global crisis."
