On May 13, 2020, University of Alberta (UA) researchers launched a joint effort with U.S.-based Tonix Pharmaceuticals to develop and test a vaccine against COVID-19.  The researchers hope their unique delivery method for the vaccine-synthetic vaccinia and horsepox viruses-will prove more effective than others being tested around the world.

“Poxviruses, such as vaccinia and horsepox, are a good vaccine platform for delivering the antigens that are needed to invoke an immune response against a virus like SARS-CoV-2,” said David Evans, a U of A virologist and professor of medical microbiology and immunology.

More than 130 vaccines are being developed globally in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The U of A team is proposing to insert genes copied from the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome into Tonix’s proprietory vaccinia and horsepox viruses, then test whether the viruses are expressing “spike” protein and other SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The spike protein is the virus’s receptor, which it uses to attach itself to a cell and then enter it. The protein is critical for infection, and if it gets blocked by antibodies-which is one of the kinds of immune responses that can be raised against a pathogen-then the virus can’t bind to the cell and infect it.

Through the partnership with Tonix, Evans believes the effort will advance far more quickly than could be accomplished alone. Once his team’s work to create a candidate vaccine is complete, it will then move to Tonix to pursue regulatory approval, testing in both animals and humans, and if all goes well, eventually manufacturing of the vaccine.

“Realistically what you need are partnerships with industry that has a history of working in drug and vaccine development to take a product to license,” said Evans. “It’s essential. With the resources and experience that Tonix Pharmaceuticals bring to bear in product development and in the health sector, this work can move forward as quickly as conceivably possible.”