The Israeli MigVax Ltd is working on the development of the vaccine pill. The company was recently awarded support from the vaccine development coalition CEPI, which is headquartered in Norway.
– MigVax’s approach is completely new to us, and has not been seen before, but the company believes it has evidence that it is possible to make a tablet that contains much of what is given with protein vaccines that are put in the arm, says Stig Tollefsen, leader for new technology in CEPI.
If everything goes according to plan, the pill will work by the active ingredients in the vaccine being absorbed into the mucous membranes and giving an immune response.
– It is attractive, because it is through the mucous membranes that the virus enters the body. This will then trigger a huge immune system, and the adaptive immune system will initiate a protective response.
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– Much much easier
The company’s hope is that a vaccine in pill form can function as both a “booster dose” to the corona vaccines that are on the market today, as well as an independent vaccine, Tollefsen explains.
– If the tablet works as we hope, distribution and logistics will be much easier. Then a pill box will be sent out instead of vaccines, needles and syringes, says Tollefsen.
HAVE FAITH: Stig Tollefsen is the Technology Office Lead in the CEPI – vaccine development coalition, which has recently contributed money to the development of, among other things, a vaccine against corona in pill form. – If the tablet works as we hope, distribution and logistics will be much easier. Photo: CEPI
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The support for the Israeli company is part of CEPI’s plan to invest $ 200 million in the development of vaccines with broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 – best known as the coronavirus, and beta-coronavirus – such as SARS and MERS.
CEPI support presupposes that the possible breakthrough will benefit the global community. All vaccines that are developed with support from CEPI have a requirement for fair access, and must be made available through the international vaccine collaboration Covax, Tollefsen explains.
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Can have great significance
The Israeli company will initially test whether the pill vaccine works similar to the vaccines that are already in use today.
– But in the long run, they have the capacity to create a broad protective variant. The reason why we choose to invest in this is that this can be important for other diseases, if it turns out that this works, Tollefsen explains, and adds that it is a long-term project with a framework of 12 to 18 months.
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The pill must first undergo preclinical studies before it can be tested on humans.
The signing with MigVax is one of two agreements that are now in the box in CEPI’s plan. The second award has gone to the Canadian University of Saskatchewan. Their plan is to develop a vaccine that works on a wide range of coronavirus.
– There are some areas of the virus where mutations occur more often, and they will create a molecule that reflects the mutations we already know, as well as perhaps future mutations in such a way that the immune response protects more broadly than those we see today, says Tollefsen.
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Wide protection
Today, the delta variant is dominant in large parts of the world. However, the coronavirus mutates all the time, and it may be necessary to adjust the vaccines to achieve better protection against both serious illness and infection in the future, if the virus mutates into a variant that is more resistant to the vaccines.
The hope is that a broad-spectrum vaccine, a so-called variant-safe vaccine, will protect against all coronaviruses – also against the beta-coronaviruses, such as the more deadly variants SARS and MERS.
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In addition, it is desired that the corona vaccines provide long-term protection.
– But I think we are still in the learning phase to understand how we can protect ourselves in the best possible way and what provides the best protection. Whether there will be an annual dose, or whether we will be able to come up with other candidates that provide long-term protection, no one knows yet. But there is a lot under development to see what it takes, so there is no reason to give up hope, says Tollefsen.
CEPI’s two agreements are the first in a series of several signatures, and the Vaccine Development Coalition is currently working on evaluating and selecting the most promising candidates. The funds that will be distributed will be earmarked for candidates who are working to develop broad-spectrum and perhaps also long-term corona vaccines, CEPI states.
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