New partnership aims to advance vaccine against MERS coronavirus - Seite 2

“We are thrilled to be working with the University of Oxford and CEPI on the development of this important vaccine candidate,” said Bill Enright, Barinthus Bio’s Chief Executive Officer. “There is an active need for a MERS vaccine for at-risk populations and travellers in the Middle East. As we observed during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to ensure we have the necessary countermeasures in place to protect people around the world from deadly pathogens such as MERS which have the potential for future outbreaks.” 

The three-way partnership, which awards up to $34.8 million to Barinthus Bio in addition to funds previously committed to the University of Oxford, builds on the early-stage development of VTP-500, which is based on the same viral vector platform technology as the licensed Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria. VTP-500 has already completed Phase I clinical trials in Britain and Saudi Arabia, and the University of Oxford is now conducting a CEPI-funded extension to the Phase I trial in the UK to assess vaccination of older adults, the age group most in need of this vaccine. The VTP-500 programme was awarded PRIME designation earlier in December by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

MERS is a severe respiratory infection caused by MERS-CoV, a coronavirus that was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. It has caused more than 2,600 human infections in at least 27 countries since it first emerged, and it has a case-fatality rate of more than 35 percent. There are as yet no licensed vaccines or treatments for MERS.

Enabling equitable access to VTP-500

CEPI, the University of Oxford and Barinthus Bio are committed to enabling equitable access to VTP-500 in line with CEPI’s Equitable Access Policy so the vaccine is first available to populations when and where it is needed to end an outbreak or curtail an epidemic, regardless of ability to pay. If the vaccine is successful in Phase II trials, CEPI will support production of an investigational ready reserve of 100,000 doses which can be rapidly deployed in a clinical trial setting in response to an outbreak of MERS. CEPI also has the ability to support technology transfer to an additional appropriate regional manufacturer to enable supply for low- and middle-income countries. The vaccine will be made available to low- and middle-income countries at a price no higher than the cost of manufacturing plus 10 percent.