Researchers around the world are racing to develop a vaccine to COVID-19. Leading the way in the UK is a consortium spearheaded by the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford – and supported by partners including Oxford Biomedica. The consortium is accelerating what will be the UK’s first vaccine candidate to reach clinical trials: scheduled to happen within weeks.
The vaccine (ChAdOx1) has been found to trigger a powerful immune reaction with a single dose and showed a ‘good safety profile in pre-clinical and clinical trials’.
“As an established clinical and commercial manufacturer of viral vectors, we are very pleased to be in a strong position in terms of capacity and capabilities to support the important and urgent efforts of the Consortium led by the Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, to develop and scale up manufacturing of this promising vaccine candidate for COVID-19,” said John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica. “While our current activities on this vaccine candidate are just initiating, should the Consortium confirm there is promise for this candidate in the clinical trial initiating this month, we will play our role within the Consortium to scale up manufacturing as fast as possible. This will help to provide significant access to the vaccine candidate for further clinical trials and potentially, if approved for use, for many people in the UK and beyond.”
To test the safety and efficacy of this promising vaccine, the Jenner Institute – and its partners – have now recruited a group of 18-55 year-olds from the Thames Valley area.
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