Variant-Proof SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate Establishes Partners

Switzerland-based ExcellGene SA announced today its role in the recently approved consortium funding through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to advance a new vaccine concept that confers highly cross-reactive protection against numerous SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, as well as other Betacoronaviruses.

ExcellGene will produce complex chimeric Spike antigens using its engineered CHOExpress®-cell-based technology.

The Swiss company will use insights from several scientific and technical disciplines and artificial intelligence to identify the most promising antigenic structure.

An entirely new "chimeric" spike antigen complex will be generated, different from any protein of existing SARS-CoV-2 variants.

It is expected that such a trimeric spike protein, composed of combined mutations that characterize virus variants of concern from 2020-2022, will induce a wider range of cross-reactivity against historical or future variants.

Maria Wurm, Dr. es. Sci., CEO of ExcellGene, commented in a media statement issued on July 26, 2022, "This new CEPI partnership is a great opportunity to showcase what is possible in the manufacturing of highly complex antigen structures, consisting of computer-designed individual monomers, for a potential variant-proof Covid-19 vaccine."

"We are excited to work closely with our consortium partners to reach this goal, and we hope it will contribute towards the science for this and other novel protein-based vaccines."

"Ultimately, we wish to contribute to solving major health care challenges, as most strikingly exposed by COVID-19, using technology and scale-up approaches that successfully provided tons of protein therapeutics made in cultivated animal cells in bioreactors."

CEPI's consortium partners include Bharat Biotech, the University of Sydney, and ExcellGene.

Having delivered more than 5 billion doses of vaccines worldwide, Bharat Biotech continues to lead innovation and has developed vaccines. Bharat Biotech has successfully delivered COVAXIN®, India's 1st indigenous vaccine against COVID-19.

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