Plant-based COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates 70% efficacy

The vaccine was developed by researchers at Canadian biotechnology company Medicago, and it contains coronavirus-like particles (CoVLP) produced in plants, which are combined with an adjuvant (ASO3) that helps vaccines work better.

The jab, Covifenz, was found to be highly effective in preventing disease caused by five different viral strains or variants in a human trial conducted by researchers. The study was published in the journal New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

Covifenz is nearly 70% effective against symptomatic disease caused by five variants, according to results from the human clinical trial of all vaccines. The vaccine has been developed by researchers at Canadian biotech company Medicago.

The vaccine contains plant-produced CoVLPs, and the researchers said that the vaccine’s efficacy was 78.8% and 74% against moderate-to-severe disease and among those who were seronegative at baseline, respectively, in a statistical analysis.

The Phase III trial was conducted at 85 centers, involving 24,141 adults who were randomly chosen to receive either two intramuscular injections of the CoVLP+AS03 vaccine, or two doses of placebo 21 days apart.

The study authors noted that "The CoVLP+AS03 vaccine was effective in preventing COVID-19 caused by a spectrum of variants, with efficacy ranging from 69.5 percent against symptomatic infection to 78.8 percent against moderate-to-severe disease."

"The potential effect of this plant-based technology in the current pandemic will be greatly influenced by the evolution of the pandemic itself.”

Lina Adams