N4 Pharma plc (LON:N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines, provides an update on its Covid-19 proof of concept work utilising Nuvec® loaded with Coronavirus plasmid.
As announced on 12 August 2020, stage 2 of the proof of concept work was successfully completed with the transfection of HEK (Human Embryonic Kidney) cells of Nuvec® loaded with Coronavirus plasmid in vitro. Following the completion of stage 3 of the proof of concept work and a review of the results, the Company is continuing to explore the utility of Nuvec® with the Coronavirus plasmid and will progress to an in vivo study in due course.
Whilst the single intradermal injection used in the stage 3 pre (pilot) in vivo study did not result in a measurable expression of the spike protein in the target cells of the murine target, neither did the positive control. Additional exploratory studies will continue to understand the translation potency of the Coronavirus plasmid including optimisation of Nuvec® plasmid loading. With this in mind and taken together with previous positive data, the Company has decided to proceed to a full in vivo study to demonstrate the capability of Nuvec® to generate Covid-19 specific antibodies.
The Company is in the process of scoping the programme of studies required.
Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The initial pilot work of stage 3 of the Covid-19 proof of concept work was narrow in its scope and, having reviewed the results, we have taken the decision to move to a full in vivo study to establish an immune response through the production of antibodies. In undertaking the work we aim to demonstrate Nuvec®’s capabilities both as a potential delivery technology for multiple vaccines as well as for Covid-19 specifically. I look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
