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Bloomberg News reports that ImmunityBio’s hAd5 T-cell Covid-19 vaccine candidate is being considered as a booster shot in a study of almost 500,000 South African health workers who have received Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation.
The health workers, the first persons outside of much smaller studies to be vaccinated in SA, will need a booster, Glenda Gray, the co-lead of the South African studies, said on Wednesday. “It could be the universal boost that we are looking for. Hopefully we will start in a couple of weeks,” she indicated. The hAd5 T-cell kills infected cells and, in addition to the spike proteins found on the coronavirus, the shot targets the nucleocapsid protein, which is less prone to mutations. That could make it more effective against strains such as the one first found in SA in late 2020. ImmunityBio’s vaccine is in phase one trials in Cape Town, and the company has signed an agreement with SA’s BioVac Institute to produce the inoculation in the country should it win approval. ImmunityBio is majority-owned by SA-born biotech billionaire Dr Patrick Shoon-Shiong, who recently announced a R3 billion commitment to bolster pharmaceutical production in SA.
- Read the original of the report in the above regard by Antony Sguazzin at Fin24