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 aim of launching the shots in 2022, The Telegraph reported.
“We don’t necessarily claim that this is a pan-coronavirus vaccine, but it has the potential to be so simply where it’s targeted,” Scancell’s chief medical officer, Dr. Gillies O’Bryan-Tear, told The Sun.
The United States has identified variants in 699 cases, CDC director Rochelle Walensky said Monday. All but nine represented the UK variant, called B.1.1.7. Two other mutations, from South Africa and Brazil, have also raised concerns in recent months.
Pfizer and Moderna, the two companies with authorized vaccines in the United States, have also announced plans to develop a revised version of their vaccines or offer booster shots to mitigate the spread of variants and more effectively combat existing cases.
AstraZeneca has said it could have a vaccine adapted to fight mutations prepared for the fall.
With cables