A potential vaccine for COVID-19 being developed by Kentucky BioProcessing in Owensboro is now poised for human clinical trials, according to their parent company’s website.
In April, British American Tobacco announced that KBP — its biotech subsidiary — was developing a potential vaccine for the coronavirus by implementing its fast-growing tobacco plant technology.
Since then, they have been completing pre-clinical testing and the potential vaccine has been shown to produce a positive immune response, according to BAT. The vaccine candidate is now poised to progress to Phase 1 human clinical trials pending Food and Drug Administration authorization.
“We have committed funds to conduct these clinical trials, which could start as early as late June, pending the responses from relevant health bodies,” the website reads. “We have also invested in additional equipment to boost our manufacturing capabilities should they be needed. … We are hopeful to receive further feedback in the coming weeks.”
According to BAT, KBP’s potential vaccine is safer than a conventional vaccine because tobacco plants can’t host pathogens, which can cause human disease.
The company also said using tobacco plant technology means elements of the vaccine accumulate faster, and the formulation developed by KBP remains stable at room temperature. Conventional vaccines take longer for elements to accumulate and often require refrigeration.
