Enhanced version of CureVac’s COVID-19 vaccine could help address supply shortages
Researchers in Germany have demonstrated the preclinical effectiveness of a next-generation coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine at enhancing antibody responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
The researchers from CureVac AG in Tübingen and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Greifswald-Insel Riems say that compared with their previous vaccine candidate – CvnCoV – the second-generation CV2CoV vaccine accelerated induction of neutralizing antibody titers in rats just two weeks following the first dose.
The vaccine also elicited significant cross-neutralization of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern.
“This vaccine was developed to further increase vaccine efficacy, thereby setting the stage to tackle future challenges of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic,” says Susanne Rauch and colleagues.