Panacea Biotec, THSTI tie up to make broad Covid vax, trials in 15-18 mths

If things go according to plan this India-made vaccine could hit the market within the next two to three years

Panacea Biotec along with public sector institute Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI) have begun work on developing a coronavirus vaccine that would offer ‘broad protection’ against not only the Sars-CoV-2 virus, but also its cousins - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The idea is to develop a pre-emptive vaccine for future coronavirus outbreaks.

If things go according to plan this India-made vaccine could be available to the public in the next two to three years.

Global vaccine body CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) has already announced an award to develop this beta-coronavirus or pan-coronavirus vaccine in India with a funding support of $12.5 million to support the programme until the phase-1 and 2 clinical trials. Panacea Biotec and THSTI said that there is potential for further funding until commercialisation depending on milestones.

CEPI has funded this project from its $200 million programme launched in March 2021 to advance the development of vaccines that provide broad protection against Sars-CoV-2 variants and other betacoronaviruses.

Betacoronaviruses are one of the four genera of coronaviruses – alpha, beta, gamma and delta. The natural reservoirs for betacoronaviruses are bats and rodents. There have been multiple beta-coronavirus outbreaks in humans since the early 2000s..

The vaccine candidate from Panacea and THSTI is a multi-epitope (small pieces of antigens or pathogens), nano-particle based candidate which is expressed on an E-Coli platform. An E-Coli based expression platform for vaccines is easily scalable and affordable. THSTI has developed the nano-particle based antigen platform, while Panacea has developed the proprietary EmulsiPan adjuvant.

“Through this research programme, THSTI and Panacea Biotec will design and select the lead antigen through proof-of-concept preclinical studies, and undertake initial clinical development through Phase I/II studies as they seek to establish clinical proof of concept for novel vaccine candidates to provide broad protection against MERS, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 and its variants,” Panacea Biotec said in a statement.

Speaking to media today, Syed Khalid, chief scientific officer of Panacea Biotec said that a few pre-clinical studies have been conducted, and toxicology studies would be done on animals before phase 1 trials on humans can begin. In another 15-18 months, the phase 1 clinical trials can start.

Khalid further added that THSTI will test the candidate in animal challenge trials across the various betacoronaviruses including SARS, MERS, Sars-CoV-2. Challenge trials are those in which one is intentionally exposed to a pathogen to see if the vaccine works.

Khalid explained that this vaccine is based on ‘conserved epitopes’ or conserved pieces of the virus that are present in all coronaviruses that resist change how much ever they mutate. The idea is to train the body to recognise this conserved region, prompting an immune response to a broader array of coronaviruses.

“Data from preclinical studies indicate that the vaccine platform induces both humoral and cellular mediated immune responses. If the platform is proven to be successful, it could potentially be used to enable rapid development of vaccines against Disease X – unknown pathogens with pandemic potential that have yet to emerge,” Panacea and THSTI said today.

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: “Over the past two years, coronaviruses have demonstrated their pandemic potential with devastating effect. SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 - will not be the last coronavirus to infect humans, and there’s nothing to stop the next one being even more deadly or contagious. It’s therefore vital for global health security that we invest now in research to develop vaccines that are broadly protective against variants of SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses before they emerge.

“Indian scientists and industry have played a central role in the global fight against COVID-19, so I am proud to work with our Indian partners THSTI, a leading research institution, and Panacea Biotec, a vaccine manufacturer with a proven track record of delivering WHO prequalified vaccines, to advance our mission to develop globally accessible vaccines with the potential to prevent the next pandemic.”

Pramod Kumar Garg, Executive Director of THSTI that this can pave the way for developing a robust pipeline of vaccines against other emerging pathogens. Rajesh Jain, Managing Director, Panacea Biotec, felt that with this collaboration and investment in scientific research, health security, and innovative public-private partnerships, we can achieve a safer and more prepared world.

Globally, work on developing vaccines that protect against beta-coronaviruses has begun, but most projects are still in pre-clinical stages.