COVID-19 booster that could protect against multiple variants at once is first tested in humans

• A COVID-19 booster that may protect against several variants is being tested in humans.

• It uses a new vaccine technology that self-replicates once injected into the muscle.

• The vaccine may require a lower dose than existing injections, potentially reducing side effects.

A COVID-19 booster vaccine that could protect against multiple viral variants at once is being tested for the first time in humans.

The vaccine, called GRT-R910, uses a new technology called self-amplifying messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which replicates when injected into muscle. Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines use mRNA, which teaches our bodies how to make a protein that triggers an immune response, but it cannot self-replicate.

Self-amplifying mRNA promises lower doses than existing vaccines, which means it’s potentially cheaper and has fewer side effects, Insider reported previously.

The trial, which is sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Health, will eventually recruit 20 volunteers, all over the age of 60, the company said.

Gritstone, the U.S. pharmaceutical company that developed GRT-R910, said in a press release Monday that the vaccine could boost the immune response of “first generation COVID-19 vaccines” against a “wide range” of coronavirus variants. .

Dr Andrew Allen, managing director of Gritstone, said the immune response could provide “more benefits than an extra dose of the same vaccine.”

The results of the trial are expected in early 2022, Gritstone said.

Andrew Ustianowski, Honorary Clinical Chairman of the University of Manchester and local principal investigator of the study, said in a statement that “we believe that GRT-R910 as a booster vaccination will elicit strong, long-lasting and broad immune responses. , which are likely to be essential in maintaining protection for this vulnerable elderly population who are particularly at risk of hospitalization and death. “

The story continues

Andrew Clarke, 63, and his wife Helen Clarke, 64, were the first to receive GRT-R910 in a pre-trial at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, UK, on ​​Monday.

Self-amplifying mRNA could potentially be developed at hospital sites suited to specific epidemics, rather than in large centralized factories.

Professor Ian Bruce, chairman of the Manchester COVID-19 Research Rapid Response Group, said in a statement that future studies will examine the effectiveness of GRT-R910 in other vulnerable populations.

The Food and Drug Administration recommended an additional dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Friday for fully vaccinated Americans aged 65 and older, and for young people at risk of serious illness.

Read the original article on Business Insider