On Jul. 7, 2020, GlaxoSmithKline and Medicago announced a collaboration to develop and evaluate a COVID-19 candidate vaccine combining Medicagoﾒs recombinant Coronavirus Virus-Like Particles (CoVLP) with GSKﾒs pandemic adjuvant system. CoVLPs mimic the structure of the virus responsible for COVID-19 disease, allowing them to be recognised by the immune system.

Use of an adjuvant can be of particular importance in a pandemic situation as it may boost the immune response and reduce the amount of antigen required per dose, allowing more vaccine doses to be produced and therefore contributing to protect more people.