A British pharmaceutical company has joined the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine that can fight all variants of the virus.
Scancell is working with researchers at the University of Nottingham to formulate a universal coronavirus vaccine, with the goal of rolling out the shots by 2022, The Telegraph reported.
“We’re not necessarily claiming it will be a pan-coronavirus vaccine, but it has the potential to simply be the target,” Scancell Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gillies O’Bryan-Tear to The Sun.
The US has identified variants in 699 cases, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Monday. All but nine represented the British variant, the B.1.1.7. Two other mutations, coming from South Africa and Brazil, have also sparked concern in recent months.
Pfizer and Moderna, the two companies with authorized vaccines in the US, have also announced plans to develop a revised version of their vaccines or offer booster shots to reduce the spread of variants and combat existing cases more effectively.
AstraZeneca has said it could have a vaccine modified to fight mutations by fall.
With Wires