‘DNA vaccine’ against MERS-CoV now ready for clinical trials

A vaccine against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is now in the works and might already be ready for human trials, according to a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

 

According to the study, the DNA vaccine was able to neutralize antibodies in mice, macaques, and camels which are all possible MERS-CoV hosts.

 

According to SciDev.Net, the difference between conventional vaccines and DNA vaccines is that the latter works by injecting a DNA sequence into the patient’s body. The DNA sequence codes for a MERS-CoV antigen which the patient’s body will now, hopefully, begin to produce. Once antigen production begins, the patient’s immune system starts developing antibodies.

 

“Unlike attenuated vaccines, which are essentially weakened live viruses, there is no possibility through mutation for reversion into a live replicative virus,” Karuppiah Muthumani, one of the study’s lead authors, told SciDev.Net.

 

An upside to DNA vaccines is the fact that they’re easier to make and don’t require refrigeration or laboratories for antigen production.

 

By the end of 2015, Inovio, an American company, and GeneOne Life Science, a Korean company, are preparing to administer the vaccine in “human safety and efficiency studies,” David Weiner, another study author said.

 

The first case of a human infected with MERS-CoV was recorded in 2012. Though majority of cases have been in the Middle East, an outbreak in South Korea this year has become the largest one outside Saudia Arabia.

 

Though scientists are unsure where the virus originated from, several studies have linked it to camels. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News