HomeHealth CareCovifenz, Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada for adults

Covifenz, Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine approved in Canada for adults

Medicago’s vaccine Covifenz has been approved to be administered in people between the age group of 18 to 64. On Thursday, Health Canada authorized the new COVID-19 vaccine that it endorsed as the very first approved vaccine to be developed by a Canadian company, as well as the very first vaccine shot to be made with plant-based technology.

The vaccine known as Covifenz has been developed by Medicago, a biotechnology company based in Quebec City that utilizes plant host to create virus-like particles that helps the body’s immune system in producing antibodies. The chief medical adviser at Health Canada, Dr Supriya Sharma said that the active ingredients of the vaccine consisting of the particles that impersonate the spike protein of the virus that leads to Covid-19. This aids the human body to identify them and initiating an immune response.

Dr Sharma said in a virtual press briefing that the virus-like particles are prepared in plants that are similar to the tobacco plants, which have the capability to produce the virus particles in huge quantities, that too in a short period of time. When these virus-like particles are injected into the human body, they trigger the immune response system to produce antibodies against the virus, she added.

She said that the virus-like particles imitate the natural formation of the Covid-19 virus without carrying any of its genetic substance, which makes the body’s immune system capable of recognizing the particles without causing any infections. When other vaccines as well as jabs that safeguard against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Hepatitis B, use virus look alike particles, Medicago’s Covid-19 vaccine is the first of its’ kind to use plant-based technology.

Covifenz

The clinical trials have suggested the vaccine is about 71 per cent potent in defending against the Covid-19 infection, in about one week after the second dose. The vaccine is a two-dose program that has to be administered at a 21-day interval. Dr Sharma further informed that the trials have involved 30,000 participants and the vaccine was found to be completely effective against the infection that leads to severe disease.

Medicago’s vaccine Covifenz has been approved to be used in people between the age group of 18 to 64. Health Canada has said that the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in people under the age of 18 and over 64 are still unspecified. Dr Sharma stressed that Medicago is presently gathering data on the effects of the vaccine on older people as Medicago’s clinical trials had very few participants over the age of 65 as most of them had already been vaccinated when the clinical trials were conducted.

The clinical trials were undertaken before the Omicron variant of COVID-19 had taken hold, that is, when the other variants such as Alpha, Gamma, Lambda, Delta and Mu, were spreading. However, the preliminary laboratory data suggest that the Covifenz vaccine produces nullifying antibodies against Omicron too. She further said that as a precondition of approval, Medicago is required to make the data available, as soon as possible, with respect to the protection against the current and emerging variants of concern.

Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline, the British pharmaceutical giant, had presented the 3rd Phase data to Health Canada in December. Sharma went on to inform that some mild side effects which are normal to all vaccines, were seen in the Medicago trials too, with no variation in serious side effects to the vaccine, reported between the vaccine and placebo groups. Dr Marc Berthiaume, who is the director of the Bureau of Medical Sciences for Health Canada, said that Medicago’s Covifenz vaccine is anticipated to be available by the mid of May, although he added that the time and the number of doses required is still under consultation.

Medicago’s Covifenz vaccine is the sixth Covid-19 vaccine that has been approved by Health Canada, succeeding the mRNA shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, the viral-vector vaccines from Oxford-AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, and the protein-subunit vaccine from Novavax. Canadian Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Howard Njoo has said that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s (NACI) inclination has moved towards the mRNA products, because of their effectiveness and also because of the well-known safety profile. He informed that the NACI is anticipated to provide advice on the use of Covifenz within the next couple of weeks.

Health Canada’s online vaccination coverage tracker details that over 88 per cent of the qualified population has already taken at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. It also states that forty-four per cent of the Canadian population has also taken a booster dose. Dr Supriya Sharma said that Medicago’s Covifenz vaccine provides Canada with an additional alternative to fight the pandemic.

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