Cambridge virus vaccine trials could launch soon

A coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by the University of Cambridge could begin clinical trials in the UK in the autumn.

A £1.9 million funding boost from Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency, has provided support for a collaboration bet ween Cambridge spin- out company DIOSYNVax, the Universit y of Cambridge and the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

SARS-COV-2 – the virus that causes Covid-19 – is a coronavirus.

Coronaviruses are named after their spherical shape, with spike proteins sitting on the surface. The virus uses these spikes to attach to and invade cells in the body.

One vaccine strategy is to block this attachment, but not all immune responses against the virus and spike protein are protective.

Antibodies to the wrong part of the spike protein have been implicated in triggering hyper-inflammatory immune responses causing life-threatening Covid-19 disease, experts say.

Additionally, C ovid -19 is mutating and changes in the spike protein during the pandemic have already been observed.