Vaccine candidate from Canada's Medicago shows strong antibody response to Covid

Canadian drug developer Medicago's plant-based Covid-19 vaccine candidate, which is enhanced by a GlaxoSmithKline treatment, was able to create a strong antibody response in a mid-stage study, the two companies said on Tuesday.

The vaccine produced a neutralizing response that was about 10 times higher than in people recovering from Covid-19.

After two doses, the vaccine candidate induced robust immune responses in all the trial participants irrespective of age and no safety concerns or adverse events were reported, the companies said.

Medicago, which has Canada's most advanced Covid-19 vaccine project under development, had in March started a late-stage study of the refrigerator-stable candidate in 30,000 participants in North America, Latin America and Europe.

The Medicago vaccine uses a technology known as virus-like particles, which mimic the structure of the coronavirus, but do not contain genetic material from it.