V451 vaccine

V451 vaccine

Vaccine description
Target	SARS-CoV-2
Vaccine type	Protein subunit
Clinical data
Other names	SARS-CoV-2 Sclamp
Routes of administration	Intramuscular
Legal status
Legal status	Terminated

V451 was a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Queensland and the Australian pharmaceutical company CSL Limited. The vaccine candidate used the University of Queensland's molecular clamp technology^[1] and the MF59 adjuvant.^[2]

Description

V451 is a protein subunit vaccine. As part of the vaccine's design, researchers added "a fragment of one protein found on the HIV virus"^[3] as a "ground-breaking molecular clamp technology".^[4]

Terminated trial

The development of the vaccine was cancelled on 11 December 2020 during its Phase I trial, after a number of trial participants were found to give false positive test results for HIV antibodies when they did not in fact have HIV.^[5][6] This was due to the HIV virus fragment used as a molecular clamp leading to "a partial antibody response" to HIV. This is an undesirable outcome as it will interfere with future HIV screening tests for affected participants.^[7]

Nine days prior to the termination, on 2 December, the first emergency use authorisation had been granted to a COVID-19 vaccine; the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom.^[8] Following the termination of V451, vaccine production capacity by CSL Limited was diverted to the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.^[9]

References

1. "UQ-CSL V451 Vaccine". www.precisionvaccinations.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
2. Meneguzzi J (13 November 2020). "Why a COVID-19 vaccine could further imperil deep-sea sharks". National Geographic. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020.
3. Slezak, Michael (11 December 2020). "How the UQ coronavirus vaccine induced false-positive HIV test results and why scientists were prepared". ABC News.
4. Smyth J (11 December 2020). "Australia abandons local Covid vaccine over HIV test concerns". Financial Times.(subscription required)
5. "Covid: Australian vaccine abandoned over false HIV response". BBC News. 2020-12-11. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
6. "BRIEF-CSL Says Will Not Progress UQ-CSL V451 COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate To Phase 2/3 Clinical Trials". Reuters. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
7. "Australia ends local COVID vaccine trials due to HIV false positives". Deutsche Welle. 11 December 2020.
8. "UK medicines regulator gives approval for first UK COVID-19 vaccine". Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
9. "COVID-19 Update". www.csl.com. Retrieved 2021-01-31.

External links

• Clinical trial number NCT04495933 for "A Study on the Safety, Tolerability and Immune Response of SARS-CoV-2 Sclamp (COVID-19) Vaccine in Healthy Adults" at ClinicalTrials.gov