UGA-developed nasal COVID-19 vaccine heading to clinical trials
The new vaccine uses a modified strain of parainfluenza virus 5, which causes kennel cough in dogs but is not harmful to humans. (Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
ATLANTA - University of Georgia researchers have developed a new nasal COVID-19 vaccine, and it's heading for clinical trials soon.
The UGA-based start-up CyanVac will sponsor a study with 10,000 participants to test how effective the vaccine is compared to the current mRNA-based vaccine.
The new vaccine was created by a team led by Biao He, a Fred C. Davidson Distinguished University Chair in Veterinary Medicine and a faculty member at UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He also has served on a White House panel about the future of COVID-19 vaccines and was named both UGA Inventor and Entrepreneur of the Year.
He's new vaccine uses a modified strain of parainfluenza virus 5, which causes kennel cough in dogs but is harmless in humans.
Biao He (Photo credit: Andrew Davis Tucker/UGA)
"We are very excited about this opportunity to test a novel intranasal COVID vaccine whose technology platform has been developed at UGA," said He, who is based in UGA’s Department of Infectious Diseases. "The name of our vaccine — CVXGA — is a tribute to UGA and CVM whose support over the years made this possible."
The study will begin in the fall.