Ontario, Canada (CU)_ Health Canada authorized Medicago’s vaccine against COVID-19 for use in adults. Following the clearance, Medicago’s vaccine became the first plant-based vaccine in the world to be approved. The two-dose vaccine, which includes a GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) adjuvant to increase immune response, is the country’s sixth COVID-19 injection to win regulatory approval.
The private business located in Quebec has a deal with the Canadian government to deliver up to 76 million doses of the vaccine. Medicago stated that it was dedicated to completing the order as quickly as possible. Marc-André D’Aoust, executive vice president of innovation, development and medical affairs at Medicago, said, “We’re at a stage where we’re ramping up capacity to meet the supply agreement”. He stated that the firm will shortly provide material for filling and packaging.
The indigenously made vaccine, known as Covifenz, is based on a method that employs plants to create non-infectious particles that resemble the virus during the development process. D’Aoust said Medicago intends to test the injection as a booster dosage and in youngsters. It was approved for use in individuals aged 18 to 64 years after a late-stage research indicated that the vaccine was 75.3 percent effective against the virus’s Delta strain.
Additionally, the injection demonstrated an overall efficiency of 71% against all coronavirus types except Omicron, which was not widespread at the time the trial was conducted. According to D’Aoust, Medicago is ready to research an Omicron-specific version of its vaccine. Canada has authorized many vaccines, including ones based on moderna’s (MRNA.O) and Pfizer’s (PFE.N) mRNA technology.
Canada also approved Novavax’s (NVAX.O) protein-based injection for adult usage last week. According to D’Aoust, Medicago plans to submit an application for approval of the injection in Japan and is in discussions with the US government and regulatory agencies in Europe and Asia for the approval of the vaccine.
