WASHINGTON – Maryland University and Gaithersburg biotech Novavax announced that an experimental vaccine for combating coronavirus has succeeded in stopping infection in laboratory studies. It is based on a platform for a vaccine candidate that is said to protect against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS; both MERS and SARS are coronaviruses. “You're blocking the attachment of the antibody to the human cell,” said Dr. Gregory Glenn, the senior vice president of research and development at Novavax. “When you have an immune response to the virus, the virus is destroyed.” The company's work on MERS was published in the most recent issue of the journal Vaccine. – SG
