NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- GreenLight
Biosciences has partnered with the non-profit scientific research
organization IAVI to work together on a Phase I clinical trial in
Africa. IAVI and its partners were
among the first to conduct HIV vaccine clinical trials in
Africa, and since then, IAVI has
sponsored more than 60 vaccine and biologics clinical trials in 13
countries. IAVI has built partnerships with centers of excellence
for clinical research in five sub-Saharan African countries, and is
developing vaccines and biologics against HIV, COVID-19,
tuberculosis, Lassa fever, snakebite, and other diseases.
This partnership will help advance GreenLight's mRNA COVID-19
vaccine candidate. More vaccines to prevent COVID-19, especially
those suitable for use in low-income countries, will be an ongoing
global health need.
GreenLight will provide its vaccine candidate for the trial and
will make preparations for large-scale manufacturing of the
vaccine.
IAVI's experience in running clinical studies, planned for late
Q1 2022, will ensure that the trial meets regulatory standards.
IAVI will also be responsible for overall clinical trial
management.
"Only about 6% of people in low-income countries have been
vaccinated against COVID-19. This situation leaves hundreds of
millions of people vulnerable to severe disease and could lead to
the continued emergence of more dangerous viral variants. It is
crucial for vaccine development to focus on overcoming inequities
in access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and address the still unmet needs
of low- and middle-income countries, which have mainly had to rely
on imported vaccines developed elsewhere when they are available at
all," said IAVI President and CEO Mark
Feinberg.
This partnership aims to accelerate the timeline for
manufacturing and deployment of GreenLight's COVID-19 vaccine
candidate to Africa and
potentially for export from Africa.
"There is an urgent need to develop vaccines in Africa, for Africa," said GreenLight CEO Andrey Zarur. "Our vaccine trial, in partnership
with IAVI, will open the way to make vaccines that are available to
everybody, not just citizens of rich countries.If we don't
vaccinate the world quickly, then the ongoing emergence of new
variants could compromise the tremendous progress made so far in
the COVID-19 response."
The trial is expected to start once research sites and clinical
research partners in Africa have
been finalized, and after ethical and regulatory approvals. This
clinical trial will harness capabilities and expertise in
Africa, and builds on
long-standing efforts to nurture this capacity by a variety of
collaborative research organizations and global health funders. By
engaging African clinical investigators and communities affected by
COVID-19 early in clinical development, GreenLight and IAVI aim to
ensure that the vaccine candidate will be suitable and effective
for African populations. Moreover, enlisting African research
partners in vaccine development will further strengthen capacity on
the continent to address emerging infectious disease threats beyond
COVID-19.
This partnership builds on IAVI's mission to translate
scientific discoveries into affordable, globally accessible public
health solutions. It also delivers part of GreenLight's ambition to
help vaccinate the world against COVID-19, detailed in its
Blueprint To Vaccinate The World published in March 2021. Both organizations are committed to
vaccine equity and envision a world capable of producing enough
mRNA vaccine doses for billions of people a year. This vision
aligns with calls by the African Union, Africa CDC, the Coalition
for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and others for concrete
actions to increase vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa, not just for COVID-19, but for other
infectious diseases.
About IAVI
IAVI is a nonprofit scientific research
organization with headquarters in the U.S. and locations in
Europe, Africa, and India that develops vaccines and antibodies
for HIV, tuberculosis, emerging infectious diseases (including
COVID-19), and neglected diseases, with the goal of global access.
Read more at iavi.org.
About GreenLight
Founded in 2008, GreenLight aims to
solve some of the world's biggest problems by delivering on the
full potential of RNA for human health and agriculture.
In human health, this includes mRNA vaccines and therapeutics.
In agriculture, this includes RNA to protect honeybees and a
range of crops. The company's breakthrough cell-free RNA
manufacturing platform, which is protected by numerous patents,
allows for cost-effective and scalable production of RNA. For more
information, visit https://www.greenlightbiosciences.com/
In August 2021, GreenLight
Biosciences announced plans to become publicly listed through a
business combination with Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp.
(Nasdaq:ENVI).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, with respect to the
proposed transaction between GreenLight Biosciences, Inc.
("GreenLight") and Environmental Impact Acquisition Corp. ("ENVI").
These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the
words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may,"
"should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely
result" and similar expressions. Many factors could cause actual
future events to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements in this press release, including but not limited to the
risk that the transaction may not be completed in a timely manner
or at all, which may adversely affect the price of ENVI's
securities and the effect of the announcement or pendency of the
transaction on GreenLight's business relationships, operating
results, and business generally. Forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put
undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and ENVI and
GreenLight assume no obligation and do not intend to update or
revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE GreenLight Biosciences, Inc.
