A Rome-based medicines company, Takis
, said Monday that it has designed a version of its Covid-eVax
vaccine specifically to combat the new Omicron variant of the
coronavirus.
It said this version of the vaccine, developed with another
Italian company, Rottapharm Biotech, would be ready for
pre-clinical tests within weeks while stressing that funding
would be needed to move further forward.
Unlike other vaccines based on mRNA or on adenoviral vectors,
the Covid-eVax vaccine is based on an innovative system that
uses the "electroporation" of DNA.
"As we seek to defeat the pandemic, it is imperative to be
proactive while the virus evolves," Luigi Aurisicchio, the CEO
and scientific director of Takis, said in a statement.
"In recent months, we have generated almost in real time
modifications of COVID-eVax against the Alpha, Beta, Gamma,
Delta and many other variants, demonstrating their
immunogenicity in animal models.
"Unlike the previous variants, Omicron has a high number of new
mutations and it is difficult to predict whether the current
vaccines are still protective: for this reason we are moving as
fast as possible to adapt our vaccine also against this variant.
"Thanks to what we have learned since the beginning of the
pandemic, we designed the COVID-eVax vaccine - Omicron version -
in a few hours and in a few weeks we will be able to test it in
preclinical models.
"The fact remains that the lack of funding currently prevents us
from continuing clinical trials to carry out the development of
this Italian vaccine".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
