22 June 2021 – Scancell Holdings plc (AIM: SCLP), the developer of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease, today announces an update on COVIDITY clinical trial plans and the publication of preclinical data on two vaccine candidates from its COVIDITY research programme. The COVIDITY programme is a collaboration between Scancell and scientists in the newly established Centre for Research on Global Virus Infections and the new Biodiscovery Institute at the University of Nottingham, and Nottingham Trent University and the programme has received funding from Innovate UK. Following findings from the preclinical data, a Phase 1 study on this next generation vaccine will commence in both South Africa and the UK in the second half of this year subject to local regulatory approvals.
The Company is pleased to note the publication of preclinical data on its two lead bivalent vaccine candidates SN15 (also known as SCOV1) and SN17 (also known as SCOV2). These next generation COVID-19 vaccines could offer improved protection against new SARS-Cov-2 variants of concern (VoC) due to the inclusion of the highly conserved nucleocapsid N antigen in addition to the more variable spike (S) protein. Based on the potent immune responses generated in these preclinical studies, Scancell plans to test the safety and immunogenicity of SCOV1 and SCOV2 in a Phase 1 clinical trial.
Prof Lindy Durrant, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Scancell, commented: “We believe that the combination of cross-reactive VNAbs with durable memory responses against the conserved N protein may confer an added advantage by eliciting potent T cells that can destroy cells infected with any of the variant viruses, providing an extra layer of protective surveillance.”
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