On Tuesday 9 June, a team of researchers from the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen stated that they had achieved “positive immune responses” after two months of testing a Covid-19 vaccine in mice.
The researchers explained that the mice produced large numbers of antibodies to neutralise the virus after being given the vaccine.
“We hope to be able to launch the first clinical trials on humans in six months”, said Associate Professor Adam Sander.
The breakthrough was welcomed on Twitter today by the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD).
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen are working on this project in the Prevent-nCov consortium alongside teams from Germany and the Netherlands.
The consortium is one of the 18 projects that were selected in March following the call for expressions of interest “for a clinical and public health response to the epidemic” that was launched as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme (see EUROPE 12458/14). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)