According to researchers, a universal vaccine could be developed within a year that could be effective against all Covid-19 variants.
The so-called second-generation jab, developed by scientists at the University of Nottingham, targets the core of the virus as well as the protein on the surface.
If successful, the DNA vaccine could help protect against not only Covid-19 but also any new coronavirus strains that may emerge in the future.
This comes after AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said that their vaccine had been found to offer only limited protection against mild to moderate diseases caused by the South African variant of Covid-19.
The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are targeted only at the peak protein, which enables the virus to gain access to a cell, and can therefore lose its effectiveness if it mutates.
However, researchers believe that the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which makes up the bulk of the virus particle, is ‘very conservative’, meaning it is less likely to mutate.
The Nottingham vaccine would also be relatively simple to manufacture and, according to Scancell, does not need to be stored in ultra-low temperatures.
“We do not necessarily claim that it will be a pan-coronavirus vaccine, but it has the potential to be so simple because of the goal,” said Dr. Gillies O’Bryan-Tear, the medical head of the immunology company. Scancell, working with the University of Nottingham, told the Daily Telegraph.
Dr O’Bryan-Tear said the vaccine candidate needed a large pharmaceutical partner and hundreds of millions of pounds to put it through the clinical trial process.
If this funding is available, it can be developed within a year.
“There is no reason why, if we get a partner, we can not do as fast as the others have done,” said Dr. O’Bryan-Tear to the Telegraph.
“I think the pandemic will last another two or three years, because of the supply, because developing countries can not vaccinate. During that time, the virus will mutate, so there are many opportunities for new entrants to try them.”