Vandenberghe Lab working on SARS-CoV2 vaccine
Luk Vandenberghe PhD, Assistant Director of the Ocular Genomics Institute, Director of the Grousbeck Gene Therapy Center at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School is leading the work at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital in the development of an experimental vaccine called AAVCOVID, a novel gene-based vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This strategy uses the FDA-approved gene transfer technology, the adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector, to deliver genetic sequences of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike antigen so the body can develop an immune response to the coronavirus. It is currently in preclinical development with a plan to begin clinical testing in humans later this year.
Read some of the press coverage on the AAVCOVID project here:
Two Boston Hospitals Team Up In ‘Urgent’ Race To Create Coronavirus Vaccine
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Announces Promising Gene-Based COVID-19 Vaccine
A Coronavirus Vaccine Project Takes a Page from Gene Therapy