Flu Shot and COVID-19 Vaccine Combo Launches Phase 1 Study

As influenza viruses approach the Northern Hemisphere during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are questioning which flu shot will perform best with the pending coronavirus vaccines becoming available.

Two companies believe they have a solution to this pending quandary.  

Massachusetts-based Vaxess Technologies has formed a partnership with the Taiwanese pharmaceutical company, Medigen Vaccine Biologics to develop a combined COVID-19 and quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine, delivered via the novel MIMIX patch system.

Vaxess is combining a novel COVID-19 vaccine with a broadly protective seasonal influenza vaccine into one convenient patch. This will allow for a seasonal protection vaccine in a single-dose, shelf-stable, simple-to-apply presentation, contributing to addressing an endemic COVID.

This vaccine candidate uses a stabilized form of the spike protein (S-2P) from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The modified spike sequence provides a more stabilized version of the spike protein compared to wild-type sequences and has shown a strong immunogenicity profile in preclinical trials.

This immunogen was co-developed by researchers at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and at the University of Texas at Austin.

MVC aims to enter phase I clinical trials in September of 2020, with an adjuvanted intramuscular injection of the vaccine. In parallel, Vaxess will initiate a U.S. clinical trial using the company’s MIMIX™ platform technology.

The MIMIX patch is unique in its capacity to enhance vaccine efficacy as well as ease administration and global distribution. The MIMIX platform utilizes sustained release technology to stimulate a more powerful and durable immune response to fight infections. 

“As COVID becomes endemic, the world will need a regular seasonal vaccination,” said Vaxess CEO Michael Schrader. “Combining Medigen’s impressive COVID vaccine with a broadly protective influenza vaccine in a shelf-stable, easy-to-apply patch will dramatically improve global access and, ultimately, protection against both lethal diseases.”

The MIMIX patch delivers medicines and vaccines through a number of tiny, painless projections that dissolve at a precisely engineered rate, releasing their treatment at its most effective dose for the most beneficial length of time. Vaxess has validated performance and compatibility with a range of molecules including proteins, killed viruses, mRNA, hormones, and live viruses.

The company says the MIMIX platform dramatically improves the efficacy of products across a broad range of therapeutic areas by “mimicking” the prolonged exposure period that occurs during a natural infection. 

This prolonged exposure triggers a stronger and more enduring immune response.

Vaxess Technologies is a biotechnology company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is developing its proprietary sustained release smart delivery technologies to meet the need for more efficacious and easy to administer medical products.

MVC is a biopharmaceutical company using cell-based technologies for the development of vaccines and biosimilars. 

PrecisionVaccinations publishes research-based vaccine development news.