China approves world’s first vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 strains

The protein vaccine Coviccine® Trivalent XBB.1.5-Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent (XBB.1.5+BA.5+Delta) (Sf9 cell) developed by WestVac Biopharma/ West China Medical Center, Sichuan University was approved for USA by relevant authorities in China.

This is the world’s first US-approved COVID-19 vaccine against the XBB progeny strains of SARS-CoV-2. This shows that China is leading the world in the development of vaccines against COVID-19.

WestVac Biopharma and its subsidiary company WestVac Biopharma (Guangzhou) took advantage of the rapid response of the insect cell expression platform to construct the Coviccine® Trivalent XBB.1.5-Recombinant COVID-19 Trivalent protein vaccine vector (XBB.1.5+BA .5+Delta) (Sf9 cell), which is of high purity and high quality for human use.

The vaccine subunit antigen has been precisely engineered from the structure of the S-RBD and HR proteins of the COVID-19 subvariants XBB.1.5 and BA.5 and self-assembled into adjuvanted stable trimeric protein particles of squalene-based oil-in-water emulsion added after purification and mixing.

This new adjuvant significantly raises the neutralizing antibody titer, allowing the trimeric protein vaccine to induce a higher level T-cell immune response.

Studies have shown that Coviccine® Trivalent XBB.1.5 induces a high titer of neutralizing antibodies against multiple subvariants, including the Omicron subvariants XBB.1.5, XBB1.16, XBB1.9.1, XBB.2.3, BA.5, BF.7 , BQ.1, BA.2.75.

After 14 days of injection of this product, the protective efficacy against XBB.1, XBB.1.5 and XBB1.9 was 93.28% with an excellent safety profile, which shows that it is a vaccine against broad-spectrum COVID-19 against multiple subvariants prevalent locally and internationally.

The XBB.1.5 variant had gradually become the main circulating variant in various parts of the world by early 2023.

With the professional guidance and support of the vaccine R&D team of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, the scientific team of WestVac Biopharma/West China Medical Center of Sichuan University overcame all obstacles and successfully developed a vaccine that covers the XBB family of variants.

In early May, an expert from the Chinese CDC noted that the transmissibility and immune escape of XBB variants is much higher than that of the first circulating Omicron variants.

Descendant strains of XBB.1 currently predominate in the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide.

As of the end of May, the XBB family of variants accounted for 98.1% of all variants in the United States. In China, newly detected XBB variants have gradually increased and are now over 90%.

The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) advised on May 18 that new formulations of COVID-19 vaccines should be aim to induce antibody responses that neutralize the XBB progeny strains.

The “second infection” rate is increasing. Experts urge prompt prevention, immunization against COVID-19, particularly for people with high-risk infection, the elderly, people with underlying diseases, and the immunocompromised to receive a vaccine that covers SARS-CoV-variants. 2.

WestVac Biopharma uses the advanced international platform of recombinant insect cell protein vaccines to develop Coviccine® Trivalent XBB.1.5, which has been approved for the USA in China.

WestVac’s COVID-19 vaccine offers a unique option for the prevention of COVID-19, is crucial for the prevention of current descendant XBB strains, and contributes significantly to the ongoing management of the COVID-19 epidemic.

About WestVac Biopharma

WestVac BioPharma Co., Ltd. is an innovative biopharmaceutical company, capable of conducting the full spectrum of product research, manufacturing and commercialization. WestVac Biopharma has been successfully selected for the 2021 to 2023 Unicorn Companies list.

WestVac BioPharma Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Chengdu, western China, while WestVac Biopharma (Guangzhou), a wholly owned subsidiary of WestVac Biopharma, is located in the Guangzhou Economic Development Zone.

WestVac BioPharma Co., Ltd. has completed the construction of 5,000-liter and 3,000-liter insect cell recombinant protein vaccine production lines, with an annual production capacity of 100 million doses.

GMP production lines were well established with the “License for the Production of Medicines” in force.

WestVac Biopharma (Guangzhou) has completed the full-scale construction of insect cell recombinant protein vaccine production lines with an annual production capacity of 100 million doses.

Source: AP