CoVLP

CoVLP
Vaccine description
TargetSARS-CoV-2
Vaccine typeVirus-like particles
Clinical data
Trade namesCovifenz
Routes of
administration		Intramuscular
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
CAS Number
DrugBank
Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Scientifically accurate atomic model of the external structure of SARS-CoV-2. Each "ball" is an atom.
Timeline
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Locations
By country and territory
By conveyance
International response
National responses
Medical response
Vaccines
Current vaccines
Variants
Variants of concern
Other variants
Economic impact and recession
By country
By sport
Impacts
Long COVID
Society
Politics
virus icon COVID-19 portal

CoVLP (brand name Covifenz) was a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Medicago in Canada and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The product and Medicago, Inc. were owned by Mitsubishi who terminated the company and program in February 2023 due to high international market competition for COVID-19 vaccines.[6]

It is a coronavirus virus-like particle vaccine grown in the Australian weed, Nicotiana benthamiana.[7][8][9][10]

The Medicago method to manufacture CoVLP was a "molecular farming" technology regarded as rapid, low-cost, and safe.[8][11] It was proposed specifically for production of COVID-19 vaccines.[12][13]

In February 2022, Health Canada authorized use of CoVLP for preventing COVID-19 infection in adults 18 to 64 years old.[3] The authorization stated there was an efficacy rate of 71% after two vaccinations against symptoms of COVID-19 disease and 100% efficacy against severe COVID-19 infections.[3]

  1. ^ "Product monograph for Covifenz" (PDF). Medicago, Inc. 24 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Medicago Covifenz COVID-19 vaccine". Health Canada. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Health Canada authorizes Medicago COVID-19 vaccine for adults 18 to 64 years of age" (Press release). Health Canada. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Summary Basis of Decision (SBD) for Covifenz". Health Canada. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Covifenz (virus-like particles (VLP) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein)". Health Canada. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference lavery was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME (January 2022). "Whole Inactivated Virus and Protein-Based COVID-19 Vaccines". Annual Review of Medicine. 73 (1): 55–64. doi:10.1146/annurev-med-042420-113212. PMID 34637324. S2CID 238747462.
  8. ^ a b LeBlanc Z, Waterhouse P, Bally J (December 2020). "Plant-Based Vaccines: The Way Ahead?". Viruses. 13 (1): 5. doi:10.3390/v13010005. PMC 7822169. PMID 33375155.
  9. ^ St Philip E, Favaro A, MacLeod M (14 July 2020). "The hunt for a vaccine: Canadian company begins human testing of COVID-19 candidate". CTV News. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  10. ^ Chander V (14 July 2020). "Canada's Medicago begins human trials of plant-based COVID-19 vaccine". National Post. Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  11. ^ Fischer R, Buyel JF (2020). "Molecular farming - The slope of enlightenment". Biotechnology Advances. 40: 107519. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2020.107519. PMID 31954848. S2CID 210830170.
  12. ^ Dhama K, Natesan S, Iqbal Yatoo M, Patel SK, Tiwari R, Saxena SK, Harapan H (December 2020). "Plant-based vaccines and antibodies to combat COVID-19: current status and prospects". Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 16 (12): 2913–2920. doi:10.1080/21645515.2020.1842034. PMC 7754927. PMID 33270484.
  13. ^ Balfour H (15 April 2020). "Plant bio-factories contributing to the COVID-19 fight". Drug Target Review. Retrieved 30 January 2021.