Dynavax and Sinovac Partner to Develop COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

California-based Dynavax Technologies has entered the race alongside Sinovac Biotech to develop a vaccine candidate against COVID-19. The two companies will evaluate the combination of Sinovac’s chemically inactivated coronavirus vaccine candidate, with Dynavax’s advanced adjuvant, CpG 1018. Dynavax’s CpG 1018 is the adjuvant used in its Heplisav-B [Hepatitis B Vaccine (Recombinant), Adjuvanted], an adult hepatitis B vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017. Earlier this month, Dynavax donated 10,000 doses of Heplisav-B to help protect healthcare professionals on the front lines of the COVID-19 response against hepatitis B, a deadly virus spread through contact with infected blood and bodily fluids, which can live on surfaces for at least seven days. The use of an adjuvant in a vaccine is of particular importance in a pandemic situation since it may reduce the amount of vaccine protein required per dose. That will allow more vaccine doses to be produced, which therefore contributes to the protection of people. Dynavax developed CpG 1018 to provide an increased vaccine immune response, which it has seen in Heplisav-B. CpG 1018 provides a well developed technology and a significant safety database, potentially accelerating the development of a coronavirus vaccine, the company said.