Aerogen and CanSinoBIO Partner to Develop the First Inhaled COVID-19 Vaccine
The award-winning Ireland-based medical device company Aerogen and the innovative Chinese vaccine company CanSinoBIO entered into a partnership earlier this month, that could bring the first-ever inhaled COVID-19 vaccine to the world.
Aerogen® (Galway, Ireland) and CanSinoBIO (Tianjin, China) have officially confirmed an alliance for the development and commercial supply of CanSinoBIO’s Recombinant Novel Coronavirus Vaccine Convidecia™ using Aerogen’s proprietary vibrating mesh aerosol drug delivery technology, following months of cooperative project development.
Phase 3 clinical studies show Convidecia™ had an effectiveness of 95.47% at avoiding severe COVID-19 illness
The aerosolized vaccine is simply inhaled into the patient’s airway through a cup dispenser. This method mirrors the COVID-19 respiratory virus’s natural infection process and may provide additional advantages by inducing mucosal immunity. The interim findings of Phase 3 clinical studies done by CanSinoBIO revealed that Convidecia™ had an effectiveness of 95.47% at avoiding severe illness 14 days following single-dose immunization.
Convidecia is comparable to other viral vector vaccines, such as the ones produced by AstraZeneca (AZD1222), Sputnick V (Gam-COVID-Vac), and Ad26.COV2. But the revolutionary inoculation route via inhalation of aerosolized vaccine uses a much smaller amount of vaccine, allowing a far larger number of patients to get the CanSinoBIO vaccine at a lower cost versus the injectable technique.
John Power, Aerogen CEO & Founder said:
“The world has an urgent need for an effective, low cost, globally scalable and globally accessible solution to mass vaccination. The pioneering development undertaken by Aerogen and CanSino has resulted in a system that meets all these requirements and with a capacity to vaccinate in the billions.”
Dr. Xuefeng YU, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CanSinoBIO commented:
“Our partnership with Aerogen started in 2013 and for almost a decade, we’ve been advancing the possibility of aerosol drug delivery. The innovative development on the inhaled delivery of COVID-19 vaccine is the testimony of our collaborative efforts. It is demonstrated that the aerosolised vaccine can stimulate mucosal immunity and significantly reduce the risk of transmission, which could be a solution to rapidly build mass immune protection and accelerate the end of the pandemic.”
CanSinoBio is drafting a commercial authorization application in China. More clinical studies are being planned for more countries globally.
The partnership’s commercial terms have not been disclosed.
