The CUNY School of Medicine at The City College of New York and TechnoVax announced a breakthrough in developing a COVID-19 vaccine.
Scientests from the collaborating organizations said in a news release that they have generated and characterized SARS-CoV-2 virus-like particles, which are structural mimics of the native virus in size, morphology and surface composition, but without viral, infection-causing genetic material.
According to the researchers, the features of the virus-like particles make it an “ideal candidate” for developing a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, as the technology has aided the successes of vaccines directed against HPV and hepatitis B.
“This innovation is most likely to accelerate the development of a COVID-19 vaccine in that it utilizes a proven technology that is distinct from current COVID-19 vaccine candidates,” TechnoVax CEO Jose Galarza said in the release.
“The CUNY School of Medicine, the newest addition to City College, continues, with this avenue of research, the College’s established tradition of directing our research efforts where they are most needed by society,” added CCNY President Vince Boudreau. “The search for a COVID-19 vaccine is among the most important research efforts of our day and we are proud that researchers working on our campus have turned up such a promising avenue of advancement.”
