Cancerorp Subsidiary OVM Initiates Development of COVID-19 Vaccine and Diagnostic Tests

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Cancerop announced on the 14th that its subsidiary Oxford Vacmedix (OVM) is collaborating with the Nuffield Medical Department of Medicine (NDM) at the University of Oxford to develop a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine and diagnostic test based on recombinant overlapping peptides (ROP) patented technology.

OVM, a cancer immunovaccine specialist company spun off from the University of Oxford, plans to contribute to global efforts to combat COVID-19 through collaboration with NDM. The purpose of this research is to develop a low-cost vaccine that can be used both as a diagnostic test to monitor cellular function and target specific antigens of the novel coronavirus, as well as a vaccine and therapeutic agent.

Before scaling up manufacturing and clinical trials, OVM will integrate and improve the manufacturing process and conduct preliminary clinical trials.

The spike protein (S protein) on the surface of the coronavirus is divided into S1 and S2 domains. OVM’s ROP vaccine targets the entire S protein to induce immunity that blocks the binding of the virus to receptors and the fusion of the virus with the host cell membrane, and kills virus-infected cells if the virus penetrates the host cells.

Dr. Shisong Jiang, founder and Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of OVM, said, “As a therapeutic company, it is very important and our responsibility to contribute to ending the current COVID-19 pandemic. We believe the ROP technology platform will have practical utility not only as a COVID-19 vaccine but also as a diagnostic test.”

Dr. Nicola Burgess-Brown, research lead at NDM, added, “This project is a great opportunity to expand the application of OVM’s ROP technology and enhance NDM’s expertise in immunology and infectious diseases. We are very pleased to collaborate on this important initiative that addresses current challenges and can help many people by sharing NDM’s facilities and expertise.”

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