In response to the new coronavirus mutation, Bowo Bio intends to cooperate in the development of a broad-spectrum vaccine

Vaccines are a powerful weapon against the new crown virus, but the continuous emergence of virus variants has brought certain challenges to vaccine development, and some companies are currently exploring the development of broad-spectrum vaccines.

On December 13, the first financial reporter learned from Shanghai Bowo Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Bowo Biotechnology") that it recently signed an agreement with Fudan University and Furgent Genetics, a listed company on the NASDAQ in the United States, to cooperate in the development of a broad-spectrum β-spectrum vaccine for the B-lineage of the coronavirus.

Coronaviruses are a single-strand positive-stranded RNA virus with an envelope that primarily infects vertebrates, named after the corolla-like corolla of protruding protrusions that extend outward from the viral envelope, and are widely present in human, mammalian, and bird reservoirs. The International Committee on The Classification of Viruses divides coronaviruses into four genera: α, β, γ, and δ, of which β coronaviruses are divided into four lineages: A, B, C, and D, including the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and its variants, and the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARSr-CoV).

At present, the new crown virus has been in mutation, such as the first appearance in South Africa, the Omiljung mutation strain, is receiving great attention from the world, the mutation of the mutation on the surface of the spike protein is more than 30 places, and the new crown virus is through the spike protein and human cell receptor binding to infect the human body, spike protein is also a lot of neutralizing antibody binding targets and vaccine active ingredients, the mutation of the virus, what kind of impact will the existing vaccine? The scientific community is still in the process of judging.

In order to cope with the potential impact of the Omiljung variant, scientific research institutions and related companies have been working urgently, such as whether to replace the vaccine virus strain, or to study the strategy of strengthening the needle. Some vaccine companies told the first financial reporter that exploring the development of a broad-spectrum vaccine is also a way to deal with the mutation of the new crown virus, but it is also difficult to develop a broad-spectrum vaccine.

Wu Ke, founder of Bowo Biotech, said: "The COVID-19 vaccine that the company is developing has been approved for clinical research in South America. The β coronavirus represented by the new coronavirus has long plagued human society, and the virus is prone to mutation, which makes it more difficult to develop vaccines. Based on the existing achievements of Fudan University and Furgent, we hope to develop a broad-spectrum vaccine against the B spectrum of β coronavirus, so that the epidemic situation is more controllable, long-term and effective. We will use our own industrial development capabilities to bring the vaccine to clinical application as soon as possible. ”

Dr. Hsieh Ming, ADX of the American Academy of Engineering and founder of Fulgent, said: "The CF-501 adjuvant we developed is a new STING agonist that can greatly increase and mobilize the body's inherent immune response, and can help vaccine antigens produce long-lasting broad-spectrum immune effects against coronavirus. We hope that through this cooperation, we can develop a broad-spectrum vaccine against the new crown virus, including various mutant strains, and become a super weapon for epidemic prevention and control. ”