campusreview.com.au
news
Game changers
Two major research breakthroughs
in the fight against COVID-19.
By Conor Burke
A
vaccine developed by academics
from the University of Oxford has
been shown to induce an immune
response, prompting the UK government to
order 100 million doses.
The vaccine provoked a T cell response
within 14 days of vaccination (white blood
cells that can attack cells infected with
the SARS-CoV-2 virus), and an antibody
response within 28 days.
Ninety per cent of participants developed
neutralising antibodies after one dose.
Ten people were then given a second and
100 per cent of those participants' blood
showed neutralising activity against the
coronavirus.
“The Phase I/II data for our coronavirus
vaccine shows that the vaccine did not lead
to any unexpected reactions and had a
similar safety profile to previous vaccines of
this type. The immune responses observed
following vaccination are in line with what
previous animal studies have shown are
associated with protection against the
SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must
continue with our rigorous clinical trial
program to confirm this in humans,” said
Professor Andrew Pollard from the Oxford
research group.
“We saw the strongest immune response
in the 10 participants who received two
doses of the vaccine, indicating that this
might be a good strategy for vaccination.”
These results do not mean the drug is
definitively effective against COVID-19,
but it does mean the vaccine is safe to
administer and trial with a larger group of
people. More than 10,000 people will take
part in the next stage of trials in the UK.
Deputy chief medical officer Nick
Coatsworth said safety and effectiveness
would be key to finding a suitable drug.
"It looks very encouraging and I know
Professor Andy Pollard and his group of
researchers there, they are absolutely
world-class," he told ABC television.
The vaccine is intended to induce
antibody and T cell responses so it can
attack the virus and infected cells.
"They're the two parts of the immune
system that will work in concert to protect
against COVID-19," Coatsworth said.
"So what we're actually seeing is that
those two elements of the immune system
are boosted by the vaccine."
He said the next step would be to see the
boosted immune responses translate into
protection from coronavirus.
This news came as another group
announced they have showed promising
results for a coronavirus treatment that
restores the lung's immune response after
getting the virus, with some describing this
treatment as a “game changer”.
The inhaled drug, SNG001, reduced
the number of patients needing intensive
care treatment. People who were given
the drug showed 79 per cent lower risk
of developing severe disease and were
more than twice as likely to recover
from COVID-19 as those on the placebo,
according to The Independent.
The drug is administered using a
nebuliser and although the full results
are yet to be released – and are not
yet peer-reviewed – Tom Wilkinson,
professor of respiratory medicine at
the University of Southampton and trial
chief investigator, called the finding a
“game changer”.
“The results confirm our belief that
interferon beta ... has huge potential as an
inhaled drug to be able to restore the lungs’
immune response, enhancing protection,
accelerating recovery and countering the
impact of Sars-CoV-2 virus,” he said.
The drug reduced breathlessness
and increased the likelihood of hospital
discharge, from six days versus nine days for
those receiving a placebo.
This drug could be important for the
treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients
around the world as the UK government
looks to fast-track the drug's approval with
medical regulators. ■
7