NRAnnounces Publication of Initial Findings of BriLife® Vaccine-produced Antibodies Against Omicron Variant
JANUARY 27, 2022 6:51AM EST
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- Israel Institute for Biological Research files initial scientific results of BriLife vaccine effectiveness in producing neutralizing antibody against Omicron Variant
- Neutralizing antibody level against Omicron is approximately 1/3 of the comparable antibody level against the original Corona Virus
- Ten of 13 tested patients vaccinated during phase 2 trials demonstrated measurable level of Omicron neutralizing antibody.
- Detected evidence that BriLife vaccine spontaneously acquired Omicron mutation suggests that vaccine will continue to evolve immunity towards future variants
RADNOR, Pa., Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: NRXP), a clinical-stage, biopharmaceutical company has received scientific evidence from the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) that the BriLife® vaccine may produce effective levels of neutralizing antibody against the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.1 More importantly, many of the mutations (alterations) that cause the Omicron variant spike protein to differ from the spike protein of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 have been identified in the spike protein of the BriLife vaccine. This natural evolution of the BriLife vaccine suggests that the vaccine may continue to evolve to address future Variants of Concern (VOCs). Unlike the current mRNA vaccines and attenuated virus vaccines, the BriLife vaccine is a live, viral vector vaccine in which the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been added to a benign virus, called VSV. A similar viral vector was used to create the successful, FDA-approved vaccine against Ebola virus.
(PRNewsfoto/NRx Pharmaceuticals)
The findings released yesterday were based on blood samples (sera) of patients vaccinated during the phase 2 trial of the BriLife vaccine conducted in Israel. These sera indicated a mean neutralization titer (NT50) of 53 against Omicron vs. a titer of 152 against the original wild-type virus and 131 against the Delta variant. This 3-fold change against the wild-type virus may be compared to the 20-fold decrement associated with mRNA vaccines, which helps explain the high infectivity of Omicron in currently vaccinated individuals.2 The IIBR report documents that 10 of 13 tested sera demonstrated clinically detectable levels of Omicron-neutralizing antibody.
The IIBR report concludes that, "Taken together, our data indicates that BriLife®-induced antibodies maintain neutralizing potential against all tested variants, and most importantly against delta, and the recently emerged omicron VOCs. We suggest that spontaneously-acquired mutations that occurred during BriLife® development and correspond to naturally-occurring mutations of SARSCoV-2 variants, may increase the potential of BriLife® to maintain effectiveness against current SARS-CoV-2 variants, and potentially against future VOCs."
"We are enormously encouraged by the recent findings of the IIBR," said Prof. Jonathan Javitt, MD, MPH, CEO and Chairman of NRx. "At a time when the majority of western populations have been vaccinated with mRNA vaccines, there is a clear need for a booster vaccine that can broaden immunity against current and future variants of concern. The BriLife vaccine has now demonstrated potential to continue to evolve in a manner that has the potential to protect against variants that are not yet known, and is planned to be tested as a booster in a phase 2 trial that will include Israel and other partner countries,"
Good luck and GOD bless,
