The UMCG is going to test an anti-COVID vaccine. It concerns the AKS-452 vaccine from Akston Biosciences from the United States of America. The goal of the clinical trial is to investigate the safety, tolerability and the reaction on the immune system of the vaccine. For this study the UMCG is looking for 176 healthy volunteers between 18-65 years old that would want to be vaccinated with this vaccine candidate.
How does the vaccin work?
The vaccine of Akston Biosciences is a ‘recombinant subunit vaccine’. This type of vaccine does not use the actual coronavirus (weakened or alive). The vaccine is composed out of a part of the coronavirus, the spike protein, that is fused with a protein fragment of a human antibody. The vaccine is empowered by an adjuvant which enables a stronger immune response.
The human body knows that the spike protein belongs to the coronavirus and starts a defense mechanism at which antibodies and T-cells are produced. This technique imitates a natural reaction against the virus infection and activates the own immune system. The advantage of this type of vaccine is that it contains no genetic material of the virus, and thus, it becomes impossible for reproduction of the virus in the body to take place.
The vaccine has been extensively tested in animal models for COVID-19 infections, in which the vaccine showed to be effective and safe. The next phase is to research the safety, tolerability and the reaction on the immune system of the vaccine in humans.
Volunteers wanted
The UMCG is looking for 176 healthy volunteers, older than 18 and younger than 65, that have not yet experienced a SARS-CoV-2 infection or have been vaccinated against COVID-19 with another vaccine. Participants of the clinical trials will receive one or two doses of the vaccine candidate to define with which dose you receive enough antibodies. Participants do not lose the right to get a different vaccine in the future.
Would you like to join this study? Please send an email to the main researcher in this project, prof. dr. S. Kruijff at s.kruijff@umcg.nl. Please put your name, telephone number and address in the mail.
More information about the research and the possibilities to participate can be found on the website of the UMCG.
Over Akston Biosciences
Akston Biosciences is based in Beverly, Massachusetts. The company is specialised in the design of novel fusion protein to develop and manufacture new classes of biologics, including vaccines, autoimmune disease therapies, and ultra-long-acting insulins. AKS-452 is a based on this technique, using conventional antibody manufacturing techniques. More info can be found on their website (www.akstonbio.com).
Source text and picture: umcg.nl
