IISC Bengaluru, Biotech Startup Mynvax Develop Heat Tolerant COVID Vaccine

The Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and biotech start-up Mynvax are working on a new heat-tolerant Covid-19 vaccine. According to mice research, the vaccine has shown high antibody response against Covid variants such as Delta and Omicron. The heat-tolerant Covid-19 vaccine candidate can be kept for four weeks at 37 degrees Celsius and for up to 90 minutes at 100 degrees Celsius.

The vaccine candidate takes advantage of the receptor-binding region of the viral spike protein, which allows the virus to interface with the host cell and infects it. A recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Viruses, tested vaccinated mice sera for effectiveness against major coronavirus subtypes such as Delta and Omicron.

The researchers discovered that mice immunised with various vaccine formulations produce high titres of antibodies that neutralise SARS-CoV-2 variants VIC31 (reference strain), Delta, and Omicron coronaviruses.

According to the study, one formulation of the Mynvax vaccine had a 14.4-fold reduction in neutralisation against the Omicron variant while another formulation had a 16.5-fold reduction when compared to VIC31.