SA Accelerates Local COVID Vaccine Development for Mutant Strains

Leading South Australian immunologists have been awarded $ 3 million by the federal government to accelerate research on the locally developed Covid-19 vaccine, which is expected to be the second line of defense against the virus. I did.

Professor John Hayball He is a researcher at the University of South Australia and chief scientific officer of a biotechnology company in Adelaide. Seed time..

UniSA and Sementis have partnered to develop a next-generation Covid-19 vaccine based on the Sementis Copenhagen Vector (SCV) platform. Vaccines have been under development since March 2020.

The Cementis Vaccine aims to provide Australian-owned and developed vaccine technology, complementing existing nationwide vaccines and contributing to Covid-19’s global solution.

Professor Hayball Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Grants rapid human clinical trials of the Sementis vaccine within 18 months to provide long-term, widespread immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

“The SCV platform is the most advanced viral vector vaccine platform technology developed in Australia,” says Professor Hayball.

“Importantly, our Cementis vaccine is expected to be effective against COVID-19 variants.

“This is a stand-alone addition to the suite of locally available vaccines, a powerful booster to all approved vaccines, and protects the health of all Australians. Also, SARS-CoV. -2 It is also expected to provide a strong boost to those who have already recovered from the infection. “

The main advantage of the SCV platform is its unique ability to handle large amounts of genetic information, making it ideal for delivering more complex or multiple antigens to the immune system.

“This is an area of ​​increasing importance in response to SARS-CoV-2 variants, other antigenic proteins of SARS-CoV-2 aimed at generating widespread immunity and preventing infection. Means that can be incorporated into the vaccine. “

The Cementis vaccine is being developed with a view to large-scale production. A key factor in moving forward is the ability to move vaccines from the laboratory to industrial processing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a serious flaw in Australia’s ability to respond to the threat of emerging infectious diseases,” says Professor Hayball.

“Until now, we didn’t have the ability to respond, but it’s changing. We believe that UniSA and Sementis will not only contribute significantly to the suppression of COVID-19, but will also respond to future pandemic threats. I am.

“Many vaccines are under development that may or may not be effective in combating COVID-19, but will be used to control pandemics unless they are manufactured on a large scale. That’s never the case, “says Professor Hayball.

Professor Hayball has been working with Sementis for the past decade to develop a vaccine that counters the potential for a pandemic.

“From a personal point of view, this was a once-in-a-lifetime journey. It was an apparently devastating pandemic, but I’ve spent the last decade training.”

Leanne Hobbs, CEO of Sementis, said the vaccine may be ready to go into production in late 2022 until clinical trial results and production capacity are available.

“There is great vaccine research and development going on all over Australia,” she says. “We are not only focused on providing Australia’s solution to the global battle with COVID-19, we also want to help build Australia’s capacity for the next pandemic. thinking about.”

“Our focus is on developing vaccines in the most powerful way for long-term public health outcomes. We have an experienced team working on this project and with the support of MRFF, You can accelerate the development of vaccine candidates.

“This grant underscores the potential of our technology as a result of years of collaboration between Sementis and UniSA and looks forward to advancing vaccine technology to improve the health of the Australian community. I am. “

MRFF is a $ 20 billion long-term federal investment to support health and medical research.

Notes to editors

A video of Professor John Hayball discussing vaccines is available at the following URL: https://youtu.be/uHzJyrBJjtE