Credit: University of Eastern Finland
Recently-formed Rokote Laboratories Finland is developing an intranasal vaccine against COVID-19 utilising specialised gene transfer technology. The company, which has emerged from University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and University of Helsinki (UHEL), is currently seeking investment to support the further development and marketisation of the vaccine, with human trials hoped to take place within the next few months.
WHY IT MATTERS
The gene transfer technology foundational to the vaccine is developed at UEF by Rokote’s own Academy Professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala. A cloned DNA strand inside a safe adenovirus carrier incites the nasopharyngeal cells to make the SARS-CoV-2 virus protein, the virus that causes COVID-19. The vaccine does not carry any of the actual virus but rather triggers an immune response in the body.