"More New COVID-19 Vaccines with Less Antigen" GSK Collaborates to Provide Technology

Medical staff wearing protective suits are caring for confirmed patients of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) in the intensive care unit of Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Province, China.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced on the 6th that it has decided to collaborate with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a global alliance for vaccine development, to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus.

Under the collaboration, GSK will provide CEPI with its epidemic vaccine antigen adjuvant platform technology to develop a vaccine for the prevention of the novel coronavirus. GSK is advancing vaccine development using various antigen adjuvant systems. According to the company, this system is used in vaccines to enhance immune responses, promoting stronger and longer-lasting immunity against infections compared to using the vaccine alone. By enhancing the antigen, the amount of antigen required per dose (vaccine quantity unit) is reduced, making it possible to produce more vaccines.

Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, stated, "Combining GSK's antigen adjuvant system with the platform technologies we are currently investing in could reduce the amount of antigen needed to achieve vaccine efficacy, enabling more vaccines to be delivered quickly to more people." Thomas Breuer, Chief Medical Officer of GSK Vaccines, said, "The antigen adjuvant technology was successfully used during previous influenza pandemics and is a very important advantage in epidemic situations."

The first collaboration under this partnership was initially established between GSK and the University of Queensland in Australia. Since January last year, this university has been cooperating with CEPI to develop a vaccine platform that enables rapid targeted vaccine production against various viral pathogens. CEPI has decided to extend its support for the vaccine platform to the development of novel coronavirus vaccine candidates.

Peter Høj, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, said, "The University of Queensland research team is currently conducting a novel coronavirus vaccine program, and with access to GSK's antigen adjuvant technology, we will be able to perform important preclinical trials to evaluate the vaccine's utility."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.