PR89539

PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 17, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

EpiVax, Inc. ("EpiVax") announces the publication "Highly conserved,

non-human-like, and cross-reactive SARS-CoV-2 T cell epitopes for COVID-19

vaccine design and validation" [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3165721-1&h=3547499878&u=https%3A%2F%2Frdcu.be%2Fckx46&a=%22Highly+conserved%2C+non-human-like%2C+and+cross-reactive+SARS-CoV-2+T+cell+epitopes+for+COVID-19+vaccine+design+and+validation%22

] in NPJ Vaccines. This research identifies peptide epitopes associated with T

cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and confirms that recovering patients produce a

memory immune response to iVAX-predicted epitopes. T cell immunity is an

important component to long-term immune protection and is critical for vaccine

developers to create future vaccines that activate a robust T cell immune

response.  

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/542055/EpiVax_Logo.jpg

T cell immune responses to COVID-19 vaccines are not yet well characterized, as

initial vaccine development focused on antibody responses. As global focus

shifts to providing long-term immunity, researchers are keen to address T cell

immunity with follow-on vaccinations/booster shots. EpiVax researchers

confirmed the existence of 18 T cell epitopes previously described in

peer-reviewed research, but notably also identified 14 additional epitopes that

are described here for the first time. These epitopes were also found to be

highly conserved across the sequences of all identified SARS-CoV-2 variants,

indicating a T cell-directed vaccine would be more resilient than existing

vaccines to new variants.

Long considered preeminent experts on T cell immunity and T cell driven vaccine

design, EpiVax researchers and collaborators have been developing a SARS-CoV-2

vaccine, EPV-CoV19 [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3165721-1&h=3242896096&u=https%3A%2F%2Fepivax.com%2Fpipeline%2Fepv-cov19&a=developing+a+SARS-CoV-2+vaccine%2C+EPV-CoV19

]. In a preclinical immunization study in HLA- transgenic mice, EPV-CoV-19

stimulated a strong type 1-skewed T cell response, that is characteristic of

safe COVID-19 vaccines.

Asked about the implications of this research, Dr. Lenny Moise, Director of

Vaccine Research at EpiVax said: "COVID-19 vaccination studies show

neutralizing antibodies are not absolutely required for protection. T cells may

play a role in early protection. We have found triggers of T cell immunity that

will facilitate development of safe and effective T cell-targeted vaccines."

For a free online version of this published research visit NPJ Vaccines here [

https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3165721-1&h=703064064&u=https%3A%2F%2Frdcu.be%2Fckx46&a=here

].

About EpiVax:

EpiVax is a biotechnology company with expertise in T cell epitope prediction,

immune modulation, and rapid vaccine design. EpiVax's immunogenicity screening

toolkits for therapeutics and vaccines, ISPRI and iVAX, are employed in

advancing the research of a global roster of companies.

For more information about EpiVax, visit www.epivax.com.

For more information on EpiVax's SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate (EPV-CoV19)

please contact us here. [ https://epivax.com/pipeline/epv-cov19 ]

Press Contact:

Katie Porter, Business Development Manager

EpiVax

kporter@epivax.com

SOURCE  EpiVax Inc.