VBI Vaccines, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation infectious disease and immuno-oncology vaccines, has announced a collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine candidate, targeting COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).
The collaboration will combine VBI’s viral vaccine expertise, eVLP technology platform, and coronavirus antigens with the NRC’s uniquely-designed COVID-19 antigens and assay development capabilities to identify the most immunogenic vaccine candidate for further development. Under the terms of the agreement, the NRC and VBI will collaborate to evaluate and select the optimal vaccine candidate.