Vaxxinity hopes its Covid jab technology will help treat Alzheimer’s

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the American biotechnology company Vaxxinity has put forward the prospect of making breakthroughs in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, due to the investment of unprecedented resources and energy into vaccine research.

Covid-19 has produced the first approved mRNA-based vaccine, and Vaxxinity is now developing a new coronavirus vaccine using synthetic protein, which is said to be widely applicable.

“Some of the most successful drugs today are biologics, but they are very expensive and often quite inconvenient to use. Vaxxinity CEO Hu Meimei told the Financial Times that our vision is to disrupt these drugs through next-generation vaccines.

Vaxxinity’s Covid-19 jab is currently in phase 2 trials, and the technology it uses is also applied to its “immunotherapy” vaccine, which “trains the body to produce antibodies against internal targets of the disease.” It can also be used to treat neurodegenerative diseases.

The vaccine is most similar to the more traditional recombinant protein coronavirus vaccines being developed by Sanofi/GSK and Novavax. But instead of cultivating proteins in vats, Vaxxinity’s proteins are made using chemicals.

These so-called synthetic peptides mimic spike proteins, just like other vaccines, but also mimic other proteins from the Sars-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

“Commercializing Covid means not only proving an aspect and a model of our infectious disease platform, but also promoting the development of other projects beyond the technology platform,” Hu said.

Vaxxinity’s Alzheimer’s drug uses similar technology, which encourages the body to remove misfolded proteins called amyloid plaques in the brain because genetic analysis has linked them to disease symptoms. Hu said that the completed phase 2 trials are not large enough to draw statistically valid conclusions, so a larger study is underway.

Approximately 35 million people worldwide suffer from this cognitive disease, and almost all existing drugs for the treatment of this disease can only treat its symptoms. On Monday, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first Alzheimer’s drug designed to slow the progression of the disease.

Other pharmaceutical companies have previously tried to develop drugs similar to Vaxxinity treatment, but failed. In 2012, an injectable monoclonal antibody therapy developed by Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson was discontinued after brain inflammation appeared in a small number of cases in clinical trials. Vaxxinity stated that this problem has been solved and the product is now safe and consistent.

Hu said that the coronavirus has accelerated all Vaxxinity’s work. “We have compressed the need for a longer period of time during this Covid pandemic. The time that originally took 5 years has been compressed to 18 months.”

Hu added that the company has expanded its internal infrastructure to support global clinical trials and is working to quickly establish a reliable supply chain.

Because the Covid-19 vaccine (called UB-612) is relatively cheap and the vaccine does not require deep freezing, the company expects to sell it mainly to low-income countries. However, it stated that it has also aroused interest in developed markets including the European Union. It said that although the vaccine has not yet been approved, Vaxxinity has confirmed the need for 140 million doses.

Caroline Casey of the scientific analysis company Airfinity said that Vaxinity is one of several pharmaceutical companies, such as the American biotech company Moderna, which has gained a boost from the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.

She said: “If they want to manufacture Covid vaccines and they have some similar vaccines in production, then manufacturing for one vaccine will greatly help classify manufacturing for other vaccines.”

Vaxxinity is a US subsidiary of United Biomedical, a Taiwanese pharmaceutical group founded by Hu’s mother Wang Changyi. It is also developing drugs to treat migraine and hypercholesterolemia, a disease characterized by elevated blood lipid levels.

Hu said her team has grown to respond to the pandemic. “So we are in a better position in other channels, including neuroimmune diseases and other aspects,” she said. “This has undoubtedly accelerated the company’s development trajectory.”