First of DNA Vaccine

A new COVID-19 vaccine that uses circular strands of DNA, has been approved in India. It primes the immune system against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. The new DNA Vaccine has been welcomed with open arms by the researching community that believes that soon, many will follow suit.

RNA vaccines were quicker to show strong immune responses in clinical trials; they have now been delivered to hundreds of millions of people around the world. But DNA vaccines have a number of benefits, because they are easy to produce and the finished products are more stable than mRNA vaccines, which typically require storage at very low temperatures and hence the hype of the new one. Developed by Indian pharmaceutical firm Zydus Cadila, headquartered in Ahmedabad, on 20 August, India’s drug regulator authorized the vaccine for people aged 12 and over.

ZyCoV-D has been found to be 67% protective against symptomatic COVID-19 in clinical trials. ZyCoV-D is deposited under the skin, as opposed to deep in muscle tissue, eliminating the fear of needles, enhancing patient cooperation and hence, coverage. The area under the skin is rich in immune cells that gobble up foreign objects, such as vaccine particles, and process them. “This helps capture the DNA far more efficiently than in the muscle,” Jameel says. Unusually, the vaccine is delivered using a needle-free device pressed against the skin, which creates a fine, high-pressure stream of fluid that punctures the surface and is less painful than an injection.

Several other DNA vaccines are being developed against COVID-19, using a variety of antigens and delivery mechanisms. Two have entered late-stage trials: one by Japanese company AnGes, based in Osaka; the other, which Weiner helped to develop, by Inovio Pharmaceuticals in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

The comparison of efficacy may not be as fair as it seems. The RNA Vaccines were tried with the earlier, less transmissible variants, while the DNA Vaccine is tried with Delta variant. The actual efficacy may be known only in the near future, but the improved results and patient comfort is the point of prime importance that puts the vaccine on dais with its counterparts.