A Quebec researcher working on a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic is turning to crowdfunding to speed up the pace. “I assure you that we will give everything we can to develop this vaccine,” promises Denis Leclerc in return.
The Dr Leclerc and his team at the CHU de Québec-Université Laval are working hard to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus. The lack of funding for prevention research in recent years has, however, set them apart. They started the race a long way behind the virus.
“I continue to believe that if we had had the necessary funding in the past few years, we would already have a vaccine,” affirms the microbiology-infectiology researcher with confidence.
Accelerate the pace
To make up for this shortfall, the Dr Leclerc and the foundation of the CHU de Québec are therefore turning to the public to try to speed up the pace.
The $ 50,000 requested will make it possible to acquire a specific device to “accelerate the purification of the proteins used to make the vaccine.”
“In short, we can do more, faster. […] It will be used to acquire equipment that will save us a lot of time, ”explains the professor.
Ultimately, by moving his work up a gear, the expert wishes to allow clinical trials to be held more quickly. “I learned that Health Canada is really open to facilitating entry into [essai] clinical ”, specifies the Dr Leclerc to explain the process.
At the time of writing, just over $ 2,000 had been raised.
Fifteen years of research
The researcher says he is confident that his work is the solution. His vaccine is developed on the basis of nanoparticles which have been part of his research for the past fifteen years.
Its particularity is to trigger a strong response from the immune system on two fronts simultaneously, that is to say at the level of the production of antibodies and cells which eliminate those which are infected.
“I am very confident that we will succeed. Honestly, I’m sure of my shot, “says the Dr Leclerc, who feels that the public’s response to his fundraising campaign will have a mobilizing effect.
“This initiative has a very stimulating effect on the team, which was already very motivated, let’s say, and on me too. The support of the population really encourages us ”, underlines the researcher
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