Clover Produces 2019-nCoV Subunit Vaccine Candidate

Clover Biopharmaceuticals, a global clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel and transformative biologic therapies, announced today that it has successfully produced its trimeric Spike-protein (“S-Trimer”) subunit vaccine candidate for 2019-nCoV via a mammalian cell expression system. In addition, Clover scientists have used the newly obtained S-Trimer and successfully detected antigen-specific antibody in sera from multiple fully recovered patients who were previously infected by the virus. Importantly, Clover is the first company in the world to disclose a 2019-nCoV vaccine candidate that can successfully be recognized by antibodies produced by previously-infected patients, supporting that S-Trimer has preserved the native structure of the viral spike (S) protein and thus may elicit a protective-immune response as a vaccine. This work was carried out with the support of leadership teams from Chengdu Hi-Tech Park and Chengdu Clinical Center for Public Health in China.
Similar to other enveloped RNA viruses such as HIV, RSV and Influenza, 2019-nCoV is also an RNA virus that has a trimeric spike (S) protein on its viral envelope. The trimeric S protein of 2019-nCoV is responsible for binding to host cell surface receptor ACE2 and subsequent viral entry. Symptoms in infected patients include fever, coughing and breathing difficulties, and it can be fatal.
Upon knowing the genomic DNA sequence of this newly identified 2019-nCoV last month, Clover scientists immediately started designing the viral S-protein construct and completed its gene synthesis. Utilizing our patented Trimer-Tag^© technology, Clover has produced a S-Trimer subunit vaccine that resembles the native trimeric viral spike via a rapid mammalian cell-culture based expression system. Having one of the largest in-house, commercial-scale cGMP biomanufacturing capabilities in China, Clover could potentially be able to rapidly scale-up and produce large-quantities of a new coronavirus vaccine.
Clover has previously developed recombinant subunit-Trimer vaccines for RSV and Influenza viruses utilizing its Trimer-Tag^© technology and has demonstrated that they are able to evoke protective neutralizing antibody responses in multiple animal models.
https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/clover-successfully-produced-2019-ncov-subunit-vaccine-candidate-and-detected-cross-reacting-antibodies-from-sera-of-multiple-infected-patients/