CureVac-GSK coronavirus variant vaccine generates good immune response in rats

A second-generation COVID-19 vaccine developed by CureVac and GlaxoSmithKline, designed to protect against coronavirus variants, produced a high level of immune response in a trial in rats, the companies said on Thursday. CureVac in February said it would team up with GlaxoSmithKline on a COVID-19 vaccine aimed at targeting several variants with one shot. The shot uses messenger RNA technology, similar to successful vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, and clinical trials of the shot in humans are expected to start in the third quarter of this year. The mRNA 'backbone' of the shot differs from CureVac's first COVID-19 vaccine candidate, and it is designed to work well at lower doses.