Saskatoon's VIDO-InterVac becoming 'go-to' hub for COVID-19 research, says director
"There is hardly a moment for taking a mental break … one study finishes and the next has already started."
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Saskatchewan’s top vaccine researchers have been keeping busy.
CEO and director Dr. Volker Gerdts said the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organization — International Vaccine Centre is testing COVID-19 vaccines, antiviral drugs and therapeutics for more than 70 companies in Canada and across the world.
“That’s about 10 times the volume that we usually get for contract research,” Gerdts said.
The University of Saskatchewan organization was the first facility in Canada to isolate the virus that causes COVID-19 and establish an animal model for testing.
Gerdts said more staff have been hired to meet growing demand from companies that want help testing their candidate treatments on animal models like ferrets and hamsters. The organization received $830,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, Mastercard and other donors this month to support research on whether antiviral compounds can help treat the disease.
“It’s been a very, very busy eight months for all of us, especially the people who are actually working in the lab. It’s long days for them, and every day, there is hardly a moment for taking a mental break … one study finishes and the next has already started,” Gerdts said.
VIDO-InterVac operates one of the most advanced level 3 containment facilities in the world, making it one of few places in Canada where COVID-19 testing on animals can be done safely. Gerdts can’t say who his clients are, but said a “majority” are Canadian companies while the rest come from around the world.
VIDO-InterVac researchers have been busy developing their own COVID-19 vaccine since January. Gerdts said that candidate, which uses protein subunit technology with an adjuvant to boost immunity in the host, is undergoing toxicology testing, the final step before human trials could begin.
“If everything goes well, we hope to get permission (from regulators) to start our clinical trials in December.”
VIDO-InterVac’s vaccine is not as far ahead as leading vaccine candidates, but Gerdts said it might be part of a “second wave” of vaccines that “might have some advantages in terms of cost.” He said vaccines involving protein subunits have a “proven track record” of working in humans.
The organization is also about to begin construction on a vaccine manufacturing facility, which Gerdts expects to be built and operational by fall 2021.
“It’s something we can be proud of, I think. You have one of the national leading COVID-19 research facilities right here in Saskatoon.”
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