ATHENS, Ga. — A startup company at the University of Georgia has received federal funding to test a new COVID-19 vaccine, according to an article on its research website.
The funding is part of Project NextGen, a program from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). CyanVac LLC said it will conduct a study with 10,000 participants to compare the effectiveness and safety of their intranasal (through the nose) vaccine to an already approved mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
This new vaccine uses a viral delivery method that includes modified strains of a virus that cause kennel cough in dogs but are harmless to humans. It was developed by Biao He, a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator who works in UGA’s Department of Infectious Diseases.
“We are very excited about this opportunity to test a novel intranasal COVID vaccine whose technology platform has been developed at UGA,” said He. “The name of our vaccine — CVXGA — is a tribute to UGA and CVM whose support over the years made this possible.”
The Phase 2b study, which will be conducted by the HHS Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's Clinical Studies Network and start this fall, will focus on testing the vaccine in people at higher risk of severe illness.
