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UQ COVID-19 vaccine hits new milestone in preclinical trials

Queensland scientists have shot to the lead in the global race to develop a coronavirus vaccine after a major breakthrough in tests using an experimental drug confirmed the vaccine gave better immunity than those who had recovered from the infection.

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Queensland scientists have made a major breakthrough in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine with an experimental drug generating immunity levels higher than those recorded in people who have recovered from the virus.

Pre-clinical trials of the University of Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine show the ability to raise high levels of antibodies that can neutralise the virus.

The breakthrough results of the molecular clamp technology were an excellent indication that the vaccine worked as expected, UQ project co-leader Professor Paul Young revealed.

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“This is what we were hoping for, and it’s a great relief for the team given the tremendous faith placed in our technology,” he said.

The University of Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine has had a major breakthrough.
The University of Queensland’s COVID-19 vaccine has had a major breakthrough.

“We were particularly pleased that the strength of the antibody response was even better than those observed in samples from COVID-19 recovered patients.”

After being tested on animals in the lab, the prototype drug was shown to generate high levels of antibodies against the virus.

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The molecular clamp technology targets spike proteins that coat the surface of the coronavirus to launch the body’s defence system against the potentially lethal pathogen.

The findings place the UQ vaccine as among the most promising in the world to combat the virus.

The university revealed in its statement late last night that the development meant the vaccine’s accelerated time frame was on track, with preclinical and safety data results expected in early June before starting clinical trials.

University of Melbourne Professor Kanta Subbarao, from the Doherty Institute, tested samples provided by the UQ team and found high levels of antibodies capable of neutralising infection by the live virus in cell culture.

“This is a very important finding because similar immune responses with SARS vaccines in animal models were shown to lead to protection from infection,” she said.

Program director Professor Trent Munro said that every day mattered in the race to bring this science forward, and while there were no guarantees of success, the support received to date was letting the team move at an unprecedented speed.
“When you start combining clinical readiness with scale-up manufacturing, the costs quickly escalate and our primary goal here was to try and break down the financial constraints as much as we could,” he said.

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/coronavirus/uq-covid19-vaccine-hits-new-milestone-in-preclinical-trials/news-story/7c28e8d591c488f826e7c7a69c02934c