Israeli Lab Pauses Research On Shrimp Viruses To Develop COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine (original) (raw)
Researchers in the Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery and Personalized Medicine Technologies at ... [+] the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology don masks to continue their important work amidst the coronavirus outbreak
Photo by Rami Shlush, Technion
In a seemingly peculiar transition from aquaculture science to rapid pandemic response, hopeful Israeli scientists at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa are developing a vaccine that will target COVID-19 using immunity-boosting technology that has previously been used in shrimp farming and other applications. However, the pace of regulatory approval is much slower than that of the vaccine research.
“We all feel the call. Look how one virus shut down the world and is putting us all at risk. It’s our will to survive that gave us the call [to action] to treat people that were infected”
Dr. Avi Schroeder develops targeted medicine technologies for applications in cancer, agriculture and aquaculture as head of the Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery and Personalized Medicine Technologies and scientific advisor to aquaculture startup ViAqua Therapeutics. His research on a virus called White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in shrimp resulted an immunity-boosting feed that can help combat disease in farmed shrimp.
“Viruses infect us by multiplying inside our cells. To do this the virus produces proteins. We stop the production of these proteins inside the body, this is called RNA interference,” says Dr. Schroeder, “The shrimp feed triggers RNA interference, breaking down the messenger RNA that carries the virus that infects the body”.
Vaccines work by arming the immune system with a ‘memory’ of hostile invaders. Using a vaccine to artificially stimulate an immune response, the body produces antibodies that allow it to recognize and attack the virus before it can progress to illness. By disrupting the usual methods of viral infection, the targeted medicine technology produced in Dr. Schroeder’s lab can keep the virus at manageable levels, allowing the immune system to catch up. “If we can do that then the person’s immune system can kick in and fight off the virus,” he says.
One researcher at the Laboratory for Targeted Drug Delivery and Personalized Medicine Technologies ... [+] at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology works under the lab hood wearing a face mask and goggles as protection.
Photo by Rami Shlush, Technion
Dr. Schroeder says he has seen before how catastrophic viruses can be in aquaculture, and after witnessing the success of the feed in aquaculture applications, they believe that targeted medicine technology is the key to addressing the ongoing pandemic. “The feed made the shrimp less prone to disease. We tested it globally and the results were so positive. It was very exciting,” he says. With the outbreak of coronavirus, the lab jumped to action, pausing all other research to focus on that singular goal.
“I think we need to start asking ourselves if our systems are maybe too over-safe, instead of being more cutting edge and offering patients who may lose everything a possible alternative”
Development of the vaccine is still in its early stages, but the research and development phase typically takes only a few months. Subsequent stages of testing, trials and regulatory approval are more drawn out.
As unusual as it is for a lab to openly share research at such an early stage, the team has the greater good in mind, hoping that other scientists may be able to build upon the knowledge. “We need the regulatory bodies to support rapid approval,” he says, stressing the importance of working hand-in-hand with other labs to push the vaccine forward.
Photo illustration of a COVID-19 vaccine. In the midst of a pandemic, research labs are rushing to ... [+] develop a vaccine that can halt the spread of COVID-19.
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Dr. Schroeder is frustrated with the regulations surrounding new medicines, “I think we need to start asking ourselves if our systems are maybe too over-safe, instead of being more cutting edge and offering patients who may lose everything a possible alternative,” he says, in reference to patients who are in critical care and not responding to the existing medications, “it’s true there is risk involved, but their current state is also very problematic”.
But while climbing death tolls and cumbersome restrictions may induce considerable impatience in the process, there are good reasons why vaccines are put through such rigorous testing, as demonstrated by tragic complications with early measles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines. Rushing the process may lead to oversight of important considerations in how vaccines may affect people. “One thing that concerns me is whether the pressure to get it out quickly won't reduce the commitment of testing it in a variety of population groups that could react differently,” science professor and author Stuart Blume told Wired.
“We need to continue this important work. That’s why we were hired as scientists, at a time like this we have to push forward”
While the vaccine’s development timeline may not be ideal for him, Dr. Schroeder advocates for collective mind power in the pandemic response, “we can’t say that the problems today are not enough funds for science, it’s also the way we manage scientific innovation. In a time of great need we need to unite forces and build institutes that would focus just on COVID-19”.
Being at the frontlines of the pandemic is taxing and the lab is devoted to staying safe and working quickly. “I’m optimistic,” says Dr. Schroeder, “we need to continue this important work. That’s why we were hired as scientists, at a time like this we have to push forward”.