Posted on 08/17/2021 2:56:30 PM PDT by NoLibZone
Key Takeaways Researchers have developed a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine that has shown to produce a strong antibody response. The vaccine uses plants to create virus-like particles (VLPs), which are non-infectious. Phase 3 clinical trials are underway and the vaccine maker hopes the shot will be available in the U.S. and Canada soon.
The first mRNA vaccine approved for human use was developed during the pandemic, and now researchers are working on another first: a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers at Quebec-based biotechnology company Medicago and drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline have developed a plant-based vaccine for SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. And their recently reported interim findings from phase 2 clinical trials look promising. The vaccine uses a plant called Nicotiana benthamiana, which is a relative of the tobacco plant.
Like other COVID-19 vaccines, the plant-based option is a two-dose shot given 21 days apart.1
Results of Medicago’s trials so far showed subjects developed a strong antibody response after receiving the jab—“about 10 times higher than those seen in people recovering from natural disease,” Brian Ward, MD, Medicago’s chief medical officer, tells Verywell.2 “And those antibody [measurements] are higher than almost all of the other vaccines that have been reported to date.”
New COVID Test Initiatives Show Why Testing Still Matters The phase 3 trial of the plant-based vaccine candidate launched in March, and Medicago is recruiting subjects across the world including in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for the vaccine, the company says, and Canada’s health agency has started a review process.3
“The whole company has been working flat-out since February last year and we're within a couple of months of knowing how well this vaccine will work,” Ward says. “It works in monkeys, it makes a great immune response, and it seems to be very safe to give to people.”
How It Works A greenhouse may be an unlikely place for COVID-19 vaccine development, but it’s where the scientific process starts. For all vaccines, scientists must find a way to produce an antigen—the molecule that stimulates an immune response. With Medicago’s vaccine, plants produce the antigen.
Robert Kozak, PhD, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, who is not involved in Medicago’s vaccine, tells Verywell that the plant used in the vaccine is very susceptible to different pathogens like bacteria and viruses.
Vaccines Are Slightly Less Effective Against B.1.617 Variants of COVID-19 This is a good thing. Ward explains that the plant produces what are called “virus-like particles” (VLPs), which are non-infectious. This process starts when a little bit of DNA is inserted into the plant cell to produce proteins.
“It's very similar to what AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines do, except they do it in the human body,” Ward says. “They use adenovirus to deliver a little tiny piece of DNA into our muscle cells, and then our muscle cells produce the [SARS-COV-2] spike protein.”
With the plant-based vaccine, once the DNA is injected into the plant cell, the spike proteins move to the surface where they form VLPs. They don't contain any genetic information, so they can't replicate and they’re non-infectious, Ward says.
“We purify those little virus-like particles (VLPs), and we inject it into your muscle with…something that helps to stimulate the immune response,” Ward adds.
These VLPs are basically the “empty shell” of COVID-19, Kozak explains, which can present more antigens to your immune system. This differs from mRNA vaccines, for example, which only show your immune system the spike protein of the coronavirus.
“But with this, you've got the spike protein, the envelope protein, and then something called the M protein—all the things that make up the shell,” Kozak says. “That's actually kind of helpful because it’s probably more likely to build a more robust immune response.”
virus-like particles ?
probably called the impossible whopper...
It’s made out of Coastal Northern California Sinsemilla.
$600 an oz.
Worth every penny.
Are they calling it The Impossible Vaccine”?
A vegan option.
Hooray./
So a cigarette basically that cures COVID.
Huh. It’s like a draw lung-wise.
Put it in my soy burger
Is it going to have the graphene oxide?
Brownies are better
Can you get it without abortion sauce? If not I will pass.
Or spike proteins
Was the other vaccines meat based?
I already have a plant based “vaccine” that triggers an immune response.
Blueberries
Cherries
Lemons
Oranges
Turmeric
Green tea
Dark chocolate
Red peppers
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Spinach
Olive oil
Garlic
Apples
Manuka honey
Add
Zinc,
Quercetin
Vitamin D3
Tonic water.
LOL — Beyond Vaccine.
>> Was the other vaccines meat based?
Does fetal tissue R&D count?
Medicago raising tobacco plants & vaccines stuff in Research Triangle , N.C.
Who new that tobaccy could be good for you?
I think they use egg yolk as the medium
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.