It leaves on Monday 7 September in Verona the human experimentation of the completely Italian vaccine against Covid-19. Already started at the Spallanzani hospital in Rome, the trial in Verona will take place at the Scaliger hospital in Borgo Roma. It will involve 70 volunteers at the moment but the numbers seem destined to increase. Many, in fact, would be interested in being involved in the experimentation. This is the announcement by Pier Francesco Nocini, rector of the Scala University who, since last April, has been at the forefront of the battle against Coronavirus. Working on several fronts, from vaccines to diagnostics, from therapeutic research to other scientific fields.

Italian vaccine - laboratory test tube

On the strength of this commitment, the Clinical Research Center of the integrated university hospital of Verona was called upon to make its contribution. He will work both in the definition of the study protocol and in the realization of the clinical phase of the research, in collaboration with Spallanzani.

Grad-CoV2, the Italian vaccine candidate

The Italian vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-2 is called Grad-CoV19. Made, product and patented by the Italian biotechnology company ReiThera, the all-Italian vaccine has passed preclinical tests carried out both in vitro and in vivo on animal models, which have shown a strong immune response. But also a good safety profile, subsequently obtaining the approval of phase 1 of the human trial by the National Institute of Health, the Italian Medicines Agency and the National Ethics Committee for the Covid-19 Emergency.

Il Vaccine Grad-CoV2 uses the technology of the "non-replicative viral vector", ie unable to produce infection in humans. The viral vector acts as a tiny "Trojan horse", which transiently induces the expression of the spike (S) protein in human cells. This protein is the "key" through which the virus, by binding to the Ace2 receptors present outside the lung cells, is able to penetrate and replicate inside the human body. The presence of the foreign protein triggers the immune system's response against the virus.

Italian vaccine - virus cell

Through sophisticated techniques this virus, absolutely harmless to humans, has been modified to eliminate its replication capacity. The SARS-CoV-2 protein S gene, the main target of human-made antibodies when the coronavirus enters the body, was then inserted into it. Once injected into people, this modified virus, or rather the protein S it carries, will cause the body's immune system to respond. That is the production of antibodies capable of protecting against the virus SARS-CoV-2. Other primate viral vector-based vaccines have already been evaluated in Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials for vaccine candidates for other infectious diseases. They have been shown to be safe and to generate consistent immune responses even with a single dose of the vaccine.

Italy at the forefront of vaccine testing

If the results confirm the goodness of this experimentation, the Italian vaccine could be ready perhaps for the second half of next year. The role that Italy is also playing in identifying the vaccine that could be the solution to the pandemic is fundamental. A demonstration of how important are the centers dedicated to early phase clinical research, on which both the Veneto Region and the University of Verona have focused a lot.

Italian vaccine against Covid, the decisive moment arrives! last edit: 2020-09-03T14:00:00+02:00 da Cristina Campolonghi

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