SA’s own needle-free Covid vaccine to start human trials
June 20, 2022
Published in Sunday Mail, by Brad Crouch
Excerpts copied below. Read the full article in Sunday Mail at the link at the bottom of the page.
A new Covid-19 vaccine designed and manufactured in Adelaide starts human trials this week with potential to become a major export earner – and it doesn’t require a needle injection.
The all-South Australian researched, designed and manufactured vaccine would also ensure sovereign capability in the event of new variants rather than relying on limited supplies of imported vaccines.
The vaccine specifically targets the highly-transmissible Omicron variant and its makers say it easily can be adapted to fight future variants.
It also can be stored for up to five years, shipped at room temperature and be manufactured at large scale in existing Adelaide facilities.
The DNA-based vaccine has been designed by University of Adelaide researchers and manufactured at the hi-tech BioCina facility at Thebarton which already as approval as an advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing facility from US, Canadian and European authorities.
It is being trialled at Royal Adelaide Hospital in partnership with PARC Clinical Services and SA Pathology, with research undertaken at the University of Adelaide and Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, supported by the Hospital Research Foundation Group.
This is one of the few vaccines worldwide targeting the Omicron variant – Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Novavax vaccines target the original strain of the virus.
