Heat Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:HTBX), which is developing a novel coronavirus vaccine, has made progress in advancing its COVID-19 vaccine program.
Heat Biologics making advances in the development of COVID-19 vaccine
The company’s Chief Scientific and Operating Officer, Jeff Hutchins, indicated that the company was delighted to report significant advancements regarding its coronavirus vaccine program. Hutchins indicated that they have attained stable gp96/nCoV-S protein co-expression. This is as measured by ELISA and immunofluorescence in the company’s clinically confirmed human cell line resulting in the selection of a COVID-19 vaccine. Further, Hutchins indicated that the steps were major milestones as well as necessary precursors that will aid the completion of the preparation of the manufacture of the vaccine for use in clinical studies.
According to the CEO of the company Jeff Wolf the company is still on track to finalize the design and development of the novel COVID-19 vaccine by July. He added that they expect the gp96/nCoV-2 expressing human cell line to be available for manufacturing through the company’s partner, Waisman Biomanufacturing, as early as August.
Heat Biologics partners with Waisman to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine
The company recently announced a partnership with Waisman Biomanufacturing to produce the COVID-19 vaccine for clinical trials. Wolf added that considering the progress the company has made to date, it is optimistic regarding the potential of the unique COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine will offer a range of humoral and cellular T-cell protection against the virus and offer protection against future mutations and other coronaviruses.
Heat biologics has been focused on the development of first-in-class therapies modulating the immune system. It uses the gp96 platform to develop therapies designed to stimulate an immune response against pathogenic antigens and cancer. There are several products candidates the company is developing that are using the platform such as HS-130 in the first phase, HS-110 in the second phase, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine program that is in the preclinical program. Equally, the company is developing a pipeline of exclusive immunomodulatory antibodies that include PTX-35.
