A new vaccine manufacturing technique could be really bad news for pathogens like respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. But it’s very good news for older adults who are at greater risk for developing serious conditions from such bugs.
A vaccine produced via Calder Bioscences’ new “3D vaxlock” process generated an immune response 11 times more potent than “standard industry comparators,” new research shows.
The new vaccine was applied for RSV, but the technology could produce similar vaccines for the flu and Epstein-Barr viruses, the researchers said.
“There remains an urgent need for vaccines that provide 75+ older adults and the frail good protection,” Florian Schödel, MD, a member of Calder’s scientific advisory board, said in a statement.
As illustrated on Calder Biosciences’ website, the vaxlock process uses molecular carbon bonds to lock proteins into configurations that conform as closely as possible to the actual virus. The result makes the vaccine both more potent and have a long-lasting shelf life, according to the company.
Although most people who contract RSV end up with mild cold-like symptoms, the virus can be dangerous for seniors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns. RSV is particularly damaging to older adults with existing respiratory issues and those who are dealing with heart failure.
More than 100,000 seniors are hospitalized due to RSV each year, and up to 10,000 die annually from the infection, according to the CDC.
Although COVID was not mentioned as a possible current candidate for the vaxlock treatment, Calder executives did cite the pandemic as proving the “incontrovertible” need for continued vaccine technology and deployment. The research on the new vaxlock RSV vaccine was published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications.
