If it manages to complete all the development stages and is available in the coming years, SpiNTec – the vaccine candidate against COVID-19 developed entirely in Brazil – could be an ideal option for vaccination campaigns against the disease, which will become be annual for children and priority groups in Brazil from 2024. This is because the Brazilian immunizer, developed with support from FAPESP and other institutions, may provide a longer duration of the immune response and be more effective than the vaccines currently available in Brazil against variants of SARS-CoV-2.
The assessment was carried out by Ricardo Gazzinelli coordinator of the Vaccine Technology Center (CTVaccines) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and leader of the team that is developing the vaccine, during a lecture at FAPESP Interdisciplinary School 2023, Exact and Natural Sciences, Engineering and Medicine which runs until tomorrow (08/11) in Embu das Artes (SP).
“We are in the race for SpiNTec to be the vaccine that will be offered annually in vaccination campaigns in Brazil. It doesn't hurt to dream,” Gazzinelli told FAPESP Agency
According to the researcher, the long-term protection provided by the COVID-19 vaccines in use, based on mRNA technology, is still low and, in addition, they need to be constantly updated due to the emergence of new variants – which represents a problem for candidate vaccines to be used in annual vaccination campaigns.
In order to overcome these obstacles, the researchers leading the development of SpiNTec designed the immunizer to induce a response from T-lymphocytes, defense cells capable of recognizing and generating a response against various parts of the virus molecule, and not just against one of its segments (the protein spike ), as is the case with current vaccines.
“We are betting on the possibility of having a pan vaccine, that is, one that is effective against all types of coronavirus variants,” said Gazzinelli.
“The vaccine has already been tested against variants circulating in Brazil, in an experimental model, and we found that it provided good protection. Now, we will test the formulation against this latest variant,” he said.
Another difference of the Brazilian vaccine, which could also be useful for national vaccination campaigns, is that it has high stability, which allows it to be kept at 4° C for 12 months and at room temperature for three weeks, facilitating distribution to distant places.
Next steps
SpiNTec is currently in the second phase of clinical studies. In this stage, which began last month, 350 volunteers will receive a dose of the vaccine and will be monitored for a period of one year. The antibody levels and T lymphocyte response of the volunteers will be compared with those of an equal number of participants treated with a booster application of a vaccine already in use in Brazil.
At this stage, the objective will be to investigate whether the compound does not induce an immune response inferior to that of the immunizer with which it will be compared.
If the results are positive, the vaccine goes to the third and final stage of evaluation in humans, in which it should be applied to 5,000 people.
“We already have resources from Finep [Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos] to carry out phase 3”, revealed Gazzinelli.
One of the challenges of the final stage of human testing of the vaccine is to have, in Brazil, an industrial structure that meets the standards of good manufacturing practices to produce the vaccine.
“We are looking at some companies and even thinking about building a laboratory to produce the batch of vaccines that will be used in phase 3,” said Gazzinelli.
In addition to Finep, the project for the development of the immunizer, prepared by CTVacinas in partnership with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Minas Gerais (Fiocruz Minas), received investments from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and the National Council for Scientific Development and Technological (CNPq) for the stages of pre-clinical and clinical trials of phases 1 and 2. The work also included resources from the Minas Gerais State Research Support Foundation (Fapemig), the City of BH and a parliamentary amendment of deputies from Minas Gerais
“The great legacy of SpiNTec is that we began to develop other vaccines in our laboratory for neglected diseases, such as Chagas disease, whose development included the participation of immunologists, biochemists, mathematicians and scientists from several other areas. I hope to encourage you to enter this area”, said Gazzinelli, addressing the audience of school participants, made up of post-doctoral fellows from different parts of Brazil.
Interdisciplinary approach
Inspired by the experience of the São Paulo School of Advanced Science program, from FAPESP, and the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, from the Nobel Foundation, some of the objectives of the meeting are to offer post-doctoral fellows from across the country the opportunity to learn about the research developed by scientific leaders from Brazil and abroad, in various areas of knowledge, and their academic trajectories.
222 applications were received and 59 post-doctoral students were selected, of which 28 came from the State of São Paulo and 31 from 16 other States.
“This meeting is different from the schools that FAPESP supports and organizes, which are focused on very specific subjects. This event is guided by multidisciplinarity. It is the ideal environment to promote the exchange of ideas and knowledge and to establish new contacts, many of which remain for the rest of their lives,” he said. Marco Antonio Zago president of FAPESP, at the opening of the event.
“The FAPESP School offers a very rare opportunity to explore different areas of knowledge. I hope it will be an enriching experience for you, one that will help shape and contribute to the success of your careers,” he added. Fernando Costa professor at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and president of the event's scientific committee.
Second Oswaldo Baffa Filho professor at the University of São Paulo (USP) and member of the meeting's scientific committee, the school brings together post-doctoral students from all regions of Brazil and some foreigners, linked to universities and research institutions in the country.
“I hope that this meeting can make an important contribution to establishing networks, breaking down barriers and creating a new culture in science and society in general”, he assessed.
Elton Alisson | FAPESP Agency