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Tonix Pharmaceuticals Reports Positive Immune Response Results from COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate TNX-1800, Following Vaccination of Non-Human Primates
Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies Elicited in All Eight TNX-1800 Vaccinated Animals Skin Reaction or “Take,” a Validated Biomarker of Functional T cell
About this update from Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies Elicited in All Eight TNX-1800 Vaccinated Animals\n Skin Reaction or “Take,” a Validated Biomarker of Functional T cell Immunity, Elicited in All Eight TNX-1800 Vaccinated Animals CHATHAM, N.J., Nov. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: TNXP) (Tonix or the Company), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced preliminary results following vaccination of non-human primates with TNX-1800 (modified horsepox virus, live vaccine), a live attenuated COVID-19 vaccine candidate engineered to express the SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2) spike protein after vaccination. The research is part of an ongoing collaboration between Southern Research Institute, the University of Alberta and Tonix. “We are pleased that all eight animals vaccinated with TNX-1800 manifested “takes”, a skin reaction which is a validated biomarker of functional T cell immunity, and that vaccination was associated with neutralizing antibodies in each case,” said Seth Lederman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tonix Pharmaceuticals. “‘Take’ has a long history as a validated biomarker for T cell immunity. ’Take‘ is important because it is otherwise difficult and costly to measure the T cell response to a vaccine. Vaccines that elicit a strong T cell response, like horsepox and closely related vaccinia, have been established to provide long-term, durable immunity and to block forward transmission. Single dose horsepox and vaccinia vaccination led to the eradication of smallpox, which, like CoV-2, is transmitted by the respiratory route. In the successful campaign to eradicate smallpox, ’take‘ was used as a biomarker for protective immunity.” Dr. Lederman continued, “Our hope and our goal is to produce a vaccine that will provide long term immunity with a single dose using a proven technology that can be readily scaled up for manufacturing and that does not require a costly and cumbersome cold chain for distribution and storage. These results encourage us to advance TNX-1800 to human Phase 1 trials in 2021, when we expect to have Good Manufacturing Practice, or cGMP, quality TNX-1800 available. We have previously announced that our manufacturing partner is FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies.” Key features and results: STUDY DESIGN: This on-going study of non-human primates compares...