Covid-19: China joins race to build a better vaccine with circRNA tech
- Chinese scientists team up to test engineered circular RNA shot, which could lead to stronger immune responses, on animals
- No adverse effects detected but it is still to be examined in human trials
A group of scientists from Peking University, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing have been testing a circular RNA (circRNA) vaccine candidate targeting the tip of the coronavirus’s spike protein, which the virus uses to dock with the body’s receptors and cause infection.
The team have released a preprint paper of the results of laboratory tests and animal trials and the study is being reviewed by scientific journal Cell.
Companies and scientists are exploring the vaccine potential in transforming linear RNA into a circular shape.
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The change would make it more difficult for the body to break down enzymes, allowing them, in theory, to last longer and induce more durable and stronger immune responses.