Clover becomes latest COVID-19 vaccine developer to gain CEPI funding as Moderna, Jenner continue to advance

Amid a flurry of COVID-19 vaccine updates, CEPI has announced an investment in Clover that will support its advancement into the clinic. On the treatment front, Pneumagen reported preclinical antiviral activity for its lead program, and Sarepta has entered the field with its antisense platform.

The Australian subsidiary of Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. will receive $3.5 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to prepare for and begin Phase I testing of its COVID-19 S-Trimer vaccine. The candidate, a trimeric SARS-CoV-2 spike protein subunit vaccine, is based on Clover’s Trimer-Tag platform (see “Clover: Trimerizing Fusion Proteins”). ...