COVID-19 roundup: SpyBiotech-Serum Institute of India send HBV-based COVID-19 vaccine to clinic; plus Vaxart, Inovio-Thermo Fisher and RedHill

SpyBiotech, Serum Institute of India start vaccine trial
U.K. biotech SpyBiotech Ltd. and its partner the Serum Institute of India on Tuesday started a Phase I/II trial of a virus-like particle (VLP)-based COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine uses SpyBiotech's SpyCatcher/SpyTag protein “superglue” technology that covalently links the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the surface of a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) VLP.

Vaxart’s spike plus nucleocapsid adenoviral vector vaccine
Vaxart Inc. (NASDAQ:VXRT) described Sunday in bioRxiv its clinical COVID-19 vaccine candidate: an adenovirus vector encoding SARS-CoV-2 full-length, wild-type spike and nucleocapsid proteins. The company had tested several additional constructs, including those encoding a spike subdomain and a full-length, prefusion-stabilized spike; and showed in mice that mucosal administration of the version using the wild-type, full-length spike induced CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell responses as well as the highest titers of neutralizing antibodies...