New Israeli vaccine being tested in Hungary

Photo: MTI/Komka Péter

Israel is developing a new vaccine, and Hungary is the first European country to join the program and test the new Israeli vaccine.

The development of the new vaccine and the test phase

Israel has been developing its own COVID-19 vaccine. Research and development have been going on for a year and a half, says egészségkalauz.hu. Phase 2b / 3 of the Israeli vaccine called BriLife is currently being tested. Hungary is the first in Europe to test the vaccine.

The developers of Israel’s own vaccine are the pharmaceutical company NRx in collaboration with the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR).

Read also: Hungarian Pfizer jab creator, Karikó, elected to French Academy of Sciences

How the vaccine works

The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which is a virus that infects animals such as cattle, horses and pigs, serves as the cure. This virus is genetically modified so that SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spike proteins can grow on its surface, explains atv.hu. The genetically modified vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) is then administered to the human body in a living form. The virus, although not a coronavirus, contains spikes on its surface due to genetic engineering modifications.

Vaccinated individuals will receive the vesicular stomatitis virus, dressed in the crown protein garment of the coronavirus, as an injection into the muscle. Coronavirus spike proteins will be the ones that stimulate the immune system, triggering an immune response.

The portal notes that the introduction of genetically modified viruses is relatively new. The EMA, the European Medicines Agency, has already authorised an Ebola vaccine in 2019 based on the fact that its actual carrier is an attenuated and modified vesicular stomatitis virus.

The results

In Israel, 2/3 of the first clinical phase of the BriLife vaccine was completed on 16 November last year, involving 240 people. Experience has shown that antibody levels are high and do not lag behind mRNA vaccines.

Hungary is the first European country to participate in testing the efficacy and safety of the vaccine through phase 2b / 3 clinical trials.

Vaccines currently used in Hungary

Pfizer–BioNTech
Moderna
Sputnik V
AstraZeneca
Sinopharm

Out of those 5 vaccines, Sputnik V and Sinopharm are not recognised by the EU. Hungary has concluded a special agreement with the producer countries (Russia & China).