On Monday, Bharat Biotech reported that it will use adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II to enhance the immune response of its COVID-19 vaccine, Covaxin that is currently under advanced stages of clinical trials. Adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II is a pharmacological or immunological agent that helps in producing more antibodies to improve the immune response of a vaccine and provide long lasting immunity.
Kansas-based ViroVax LLC has given license to use their adjuvant to Covaxin. Sunil David of ViroVax said that the company is happy to form a partnership with Bharat Biotech. He commented that the deal could have been possible because of the support from the National Institutes of Health.
Krishna Ella, chairman and MD of Bharat Biotech said, “There is a critical need for the development and availability of adjuvants that induce greater antibody responses to vaccine antigens, thus resulting in long-term protection against pathogens. Adjuvants also enhance the sustainability of the global vaccine supply on account of their antigen-sparing effect. Our partnership with ViroVax resonates with Bharat Biotech’s relentless efforts towards developing safe and effective vaccines coupled with long-term immunity.”
He added, “The widely used adjuvant Aluminium hydroxide in the development of Sars-CoV-2 vaccines is known to induce a Th2 based response (that helps in removal of extracellular parasites and bacterial infection). The Th2 based response has a theoretical risk of vaccine associated enhanced respiratory diseases. We have used Imidazoquinoline class of adjuvants (TLR7/8 agonists), which are known to induce Th1 based response which further reduces the risk of ADE.”
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is currently under Phase 2 human clinical trials.