Government in talks with France’s Valneva over COVID-19 vaccine candidate
The federal government has held talks with French biotech Valneva about another COVID-19 vaccine product, in a sign Australia is still considering adding options to its arsenal in the fight against the coronavirus.France-based Valneva is in advanced stages of developing a COVID-19 shot based on traditional methods used for vaccines that fight influenza and polio. The product is an ‘inactivated’ vaccine made up of a version of the virus that is ‘killed’ prior to use so that it cannot replicate, but still triggers an immune response.
This method is distinct from Pfizer’s vaccine, which uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology to deliver a genetic blueprint of instructions to fight the virus, and AstraZeneca’s approach, which is based on modified cold virus. It is also different from the approach being used in the Novavax vaccine product the government has ordered, which uses one element of the virus known as a “spike protein” made in a lab to provoke an immune response.
Scientists hope that if Valneca’s product is successful, it could be more effective in the fight against new COVID-19 variants, as well as acting as a potential booster shot option because its approach may provide a broader immune response than other products on the market.
A department of health spokesperson confirmed to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the government has been in contact with Valneva to discuss the company’s product.
“The Australian Government continues to meet regularly with a range of COVID-19 vaccine and treatment developers and manufacturers, including Valneva. The nature of these discussions are commercial in confidence. We continue to monitor ongoing clinical trials, review real world effectiveness of the vaccine rollout and continue to have a range of discussions with manufacturers,” the spokesperson said.
Valneva’s conversations with the Australian government do not mean a supply deal will be inked, but show the government is continuing to survey available technologies beyond the three deals it has currently signed for the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Novavax vaccines.
A ‘phase 1/2’ study measuring the safety and efficacy of Valneva’s product in the UK showed more than 90 per cent of participants developed significant levels of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. The product is now in advanced ‘phase 3’ trials which compare its efficacy to other products.
Valneva has inked a supply deal with the UK government for its product, which will be made in Scotland if it makes its way through trials. The company has said it could apply for final approvals of the product during the last few months of this year, depending on progress.
Australia’s vaccine strategy has already hit major hurdles, with the surprise decision to prioritise the Pfizer vaccine over AstraZeneca’s for under 50s because of clotting concerns pushing out targets for the national rollout timeline by months.
Valneva would need to complete its phase 3 trials and start the registration process with the Therapeutic Goods Administration if the company did want to launch in Australia.
The health department said any future COVID-19 vaccine investments will be subject to the advice of the COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments for Australia – Science and Industry Technical Advisory Group (SITAG), and the review of clinical evidence and risk for individual products.
Valneva has a presence in the UK, Canada and Europe and has already commercialised vaccines against Japanese encephilitis and cholera. The biotech’s product pipeline also includes a vaccine under development for Lyme disease, as well as its COVID vaccine.This week the company confirmed it plans to launch a global roadshow to raise funds to list the company on the US tech exchange, the Nasdaq.
“As COVID-19 continues to impact people’s daily lives, we remain fully focused on developing another safe and efficacious vaccine solution. We believe that [our vaccine] has an important role to play including boosters or potential modifications to the vaccine to address variants,” chief executive Thomas Lingelbach said.
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