UK launches second-generation COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial

Xinhua News Agency, London, September 20 (Reporter Guo Shuang) British researchers started the Phase I clinical trial of the second-generation COVID-19 vaccine in Manchester on the 20th
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On the same day, the Phase I clinical trial jointly launched by Gritzstone Pharmaceuticals of the United States and the United Kingdom was launched at the Manchester Clinical Research Center of the National Institutes of Health of the United Kingdom.
The first volunteers to be vaccinated were a couple in their 60s
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The vaccine launched by the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom and the National Health Agency Trust for England is called GRT-R910, which is a self-amplifying mRNA (SAM) new crown vaccine
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The first-generation mRNA vaccine targets the spike protein on the surface of the new coronavirus, and induces an immune response by delivering the genetic material or genetic information of the spike protein to the human body
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In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, the head of the clinical trial, Professor Andrew Ustyanovsky, said that unlike previous vaccines, the design idea of ​​the new vaccine is not only to induce an immune response through the spike protein, but also through the virus.
Other proteins that are not prone to mutation induce immune response, which not only stimulates antibody production, but also stimulates cellular immune response, so as to fight against more mutated strains, and the immunity is longer
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The University of Manchester stated that the Phase I clinical trial plans to recruit 20 volunteers, and the trial data is expected to be released in the first quarter of next year
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Ustinovsky said that if GRT-R910 is used as a booster vaccine, it will be expected to induce a stronger, longer-lasting and extensive immune response in the human body.