Just did a donor update Zoom with the UW Institute for Protein Design (Baker and King). Their protein nanoparticle COVID vaccine is in Phase III trials now, and they are seeing antibody response 8x higher than the best convalescent serum. And so it should also last longer (they are testing beyond 6 months now). Vaccine is stable at 4°C (like flu vaccine, easier distribution). Hoping to be in market by January under emergency use. King predicts we’ll need boosters every X years, and they are trying to grow X.
Their next work is on a broad-based coronavirus vaccine to afford immunity to the next novel SARS pandemic by prompting the immune system to generalize. To do this, they decorate the nanoparticle with dozens of different SARS proteins. In a test, where they purposely left out the SARS-Cov-2 ACE binding protein, it was effective in generating antibodies that were effective against COVID.
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