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| A researcher at CHA Vaccine Institute conducts research in this photo, Tuesday. Courtesy of CHA Vaccine Institute |
By Baek Byung-yeul
CHA Vaccine Institute is developing a mixed vaccine that can offer protection against both COVID-19 and influenza as part of its efforts to prevent multiple diseases with a single dose, the biotech company said Tuesday.
The company said it has been developing the mixed vaccine using its own immunity-enhancing platform, L-pampo, to increase immunity against both COVID-19 and influenza.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the fatality rate from seasonal influenza is 0.8 percent among people in their 60s or older, while the fatality rate from COVID-19 stands at 6 percent. In particular, when people get infected with COVID-19 and influenza at the same time, the fatality rate becomes 1.6 times higher than when infected with influenza alone.
The company focused on the fact that existing vaccines are less effective for the elderly, who have reduced immunity levels, and decided to develop the mixed vaccine using its immunity-enhancing platform.
"The data from our own experiment showed that L-pampo induced a higher level of immunogenicity than the immunostimulant used in the current COVID-19 vaccines," the company said, adding that it also confirmed that its mixed vaccine can boost the immune response of the elderly.
Thanks to its own data, CHA Vaccine Institute's mixed vaccine candidate was chosen as a "Future Growth High Value-Added Vaccine Development Project" by the Ministry of Health and Welfare
Yum Jung-sun, CEO of the company, said its L-pampo platform is a complex of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR 3 ligands, which play key roles in the innate immune system.
"CHA Vaccine Institute's immune enhancer platform is the only one in the world that is based on TLR 2/3. The platform is being used in various fields ― such as anticancer in addition to infectious diseases," the CEO said.
The company is also developing a sublingual-type vaccine to make it easier to get vaccinated compared to a conventional injection-type vaccine. The company said it has received financial support from the Research Investment for GlobalHealth Technology Fund to develop the new type of vaccine.
Compared to injection-type vaccines, the sublingual vaccines can be stored at room temperature, which can reduce logistics costs and be easily distributed to low-income countries to consequently solve the vaccine inequality problem.
As injections are not required, the sublingual vaccines will also be suitable for those low-income countries that lack professional medical staff and facilities, the company added.
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