McMaster University has announced the initiation of the AeroVax Phase 2 trial of its ChAd-triCoV/Mac inhaled vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. According to McMaster, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research has provided $8 million to support the study, which will be led by researchers from the university’s Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research.
The University says that preclinical data and not-yet-published data from a Phase 1 trial demonstrate that the inhaled vaccine outperforms injected vaccines in eliciting an immune response. The Phase 2 trial is expected to enroll 350 participants aged 18-65 who have already received at least 3 doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, with two thirds of the participants receiving nebulized vaccine and one third getting a nebulized placebo.
Co-lead investigator Fiona Smaill commented, “While the current, needle-based COVID-19 vaccines have prevented a tremendous amount of death and hospitalization, they haven’t really changed a lot of people’s experience with getting recurrent infections. So, we’re looking to change that by providing robust protection directly at the site of infection.”
Read the McMaster University press release
