Candian biotechnology company developed a plant-based Covid-19 vaccine which is 70% effective against the symptomatic disease caused by five variants of the novel coronavirus.
According to the results of the human clinical trial of the preventive, the phase 3 trial was conducted on 24,141 adults who were randomly assigned to receive two intramuscular injections through 85 centres. The injections were administered either the CoVLP+AS03 vaccine or placebo 21 days apart.
Medicago’s researchers developed a vaccine that contains coronavirus-like particles (CoVLPs) produced in plants that are combined with an adjuvant (ASO3) that helps vaccines work better.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota reported that the vaccine was 69.5% effective against Covid-19 caused by five different variants of this virus in a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). 165 participants underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to confirm Covid-19.
The authors of the study noted, “The CoVLP+AS03 vaccine was effective in preventing COVID-19 caused by a spectrum of variants, with efficacy ranging from 69.5% against symptomatic infection to 78.8% against moderate-to-severe disease”. The group dint had any severe cases of infection.
They found that the median viral load for breakthrough cases was more than 100-fold lower in the vaccine group than in the placebo group.
