Switzerland will undergo clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine in the form of a microneedle patch, which generates a T-cell response without the formation of antibodies. This is reported by the British developer of Emergex Vaccines.
The study will involve two groups of volunteers, 13 people each, who will be injected with high and low dosages of the drug. The first patient is expected to receive the next generation vaccine dose in early January 2022, with interim results to be published in June.
Unlike existing vaccines that generate antibodies that neutralize coronavirus, the Emergex vaccine forms immunity to COVID-19 using specific CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocytes, which are able to recognize and destroy cells already infected with the virus. According to the company’s commercial director Robin Cohen, the process of activating T lymphocytes, called priming, has the potential to offer “significant benefits over current COVID-19 vaccines, including longer-term immunity and broader protection against newer variants. [коронавируса]».
As Emergex explains, T-cell immunity provides longer lasting protection because such cells retain the memory of meeting the coronavirus, while the effectiveness of vaccines that produce antiviral antibodies diminishes over time as the number of such antibodies decreases. As a result, the company argues, a T-cell priming vaccine may be more effective against rapidly mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, and even eliminate the need for booster doses.
In September, scientists at Stanford University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill published the results of a study on a similar technology – a 3D-printed vaccine patch. In the course of studies, it turned out that the resulting immune response was 10 times stronger than with the introduction of intramuscular injection. According to scientists, the patch is glued to the skin, where there are a lot of immune cells, which the vaccine is targeting, which explains the increased effectiveness.
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