Swiss biotech companies Berna Biotech Pharma and Swiss Biotech Center are joining forces to develop a second-generation vaccine against covid-19. The goal is to conduct clinical trials by fall 2021.
Berna Biotech Pharma and Swiss Biotech Center have signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the development of a vaccine against covid-19. The vaccine, which has demonstrated impressive efficacy in vivo models, is based on a human cell line platform expressing structural glycoproteins with immunogenic carrier virus-like particles. VLPs are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but contain no genetic material and are therefore non-infectious and unable to multiply.
Berna Biotech Pharma’s origins date back to the Swiss Serum and Vaccine Institute, founded in 1898. By the early 2000s, the company was one of the top five vaccine companies globally, producing more than 20 different vaccines. The Swiss Biotech Center has recognized know-how in the development of biopharmaceuticas. Its pre-industrial platform supports the development of innovative products, from the idea to the final product.
Besides working on a covid-19 vaccine, the two partners want to extend their collaboration to revive vaccinology in Switzerland. In the medium term, they plan to produce and commercialize more than 15 vaccines, on a production site with the latest technologies in advanced biomanufacturing and Industry 4.0.
