SAN DIEGO — A local pharmaceutical company that has been working on a COVID-19 vaccine will soon start its third phase of trials.
News 8’s Neda Iranpour went to their lab in February last year and we just returned back to their lab now 1.5 years later to find out where their vaccine stands. We learned INOVIO could hold the key to a vaccine for third world countries and possibly provide a booster shot for all.
INOVIO Pharmaceuticals has had a very busy year and a half. As soon as China released the sequence for COVID-19, INOVIO was one of the first labs to work on a vaccine.
In fact, within 3 hours researchers in Sorrento Valley had a vaccine to test. Researchers explained to News 8 they have an algorithm they designed, and they put the DNA sequence into the algorithm to create their vaccine.
A lot has happened around the world since then. While other big-name pharmaceuticals got approval to administer vaccines, INOVIO’s was going through clinical trials. Now they’ve been accepted into a phase 3 efficacy trial.
“We’re going into our phase 3 trial with a huge amount of confidence,” said Dr. Kate Broderick, the Senior Vice President of research and development at INOVIO. She says they’ve been approved to test the vaccine on people in Mexico, Brazil, and the Philippines.
“I think the whole world is so thankful for the huge advances by what we call the Wave 1 vaccines, however, a kind of sobering thought is only two percent of the population in lower-income countries have the vaccine,” Dr. Broderick said.
INOVIO's is the type of vaccine that does not need to be stored in a freezer. In fact, a refrigerator or room temperature would work for storage. Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna shots which require freezing.
Dr. Broderick explains, “RNA is actually an unstable molecule that’s why you’ve heard it has to be kept in freezer… DNA is different, you can keep it outside at room temperature.” She says INOVIO’s vaccine can survive for at least one year at room temperature and for at least one month at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
How does it work? It gives the body a copy of the virus’s genetic material to build T-cells and the antibody response to COVID-19, “I think of it as like giving the body an FBI picture. So if you see this, make sure you respond to it.”
Dr. Broderick says their shot could also work as a booster, “it’d be really beneficial if we could do a mix and match scenario.”
That’s because with all the variants, she doesn’t believe this virus is going anywhere for a while, “I completely understand people are over this but unfortunately this is not the case. We’re going to keep giving people booster shots. I know it’s frustrating, gosh it’s just another thing to be concerned about but it’s the right thing to do.”
They’re aiming to complete the efficacy trial by early next year, then they’d need each country to approve their vaccine.
So far, Dr. Broderick says they haven’t had any major issues with side effects, just some redness of the skin. She added they don’t administer this vaccine into the muscle.
WATCH: INOVIO Pharmaceuticals initiates phase one human clinical trial for COVID-19 vaccine (April 2020)