Issues@Hand

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October 2021 – At Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, researchers hope to soon begin Phase I/II volunteer clinical trials of Oravax, the world’s first oral COVID-19 vaccine. This new medicine was developed at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Center by Oramed Pharmaceuticals in conjunction with Premas Biotech of India. In preclinical studies and in a pilot animal study, Oravax successfully promoted both short- and long-term antibodies to COVID.

Unlike current Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, which target a single structural protein spike of the novel coronavirus, Oravax targets three proteins. Israeli researchers are excited over the potential advantages of this new oral vaccine including easier access, fewer side effects, and broader protection from viral variants, all due to the new medicine’s basic structural difference from vaccines now in use.

“This vaccine should be much more resistant to COVID-19 variants,” said Oramed CEO Nadav Kidron. “Even if the virus gets through one line, there is a second line, and if through on the second line, there is a third.”

If Israel’s Health Ministry approves further Oravax testing, Phase I/II trials could be completed in only six weeks.

jpost.com, 7/22/21