We're in very good hands regarding our COVID-19 vaccine with Dr. Kobasa and Dr. Coombs. And that NML decided to push further the preclinical research into the animal model speaks bold as they know their stuff and know what's missing.
Dr. Kobasa (NML) and Dr. Coombs (UM) are behind this 2018 breakthrough, so I think it's fair to say that we have top scientists assessing our technology against enveloped viruses (influenza, SARS-Cov-2, Zika, herpes simplex, MonkeyPox, etc ...).
So our chances to have positive news from NML regarding the last preclinical step are high as they already confirmed proof-of-concept and that NML had couple of ideas to help push this technology to its limit in terms of efficacy.
The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Informing influenza research, 100 years later Many Canadians only think of the flu in the fall, especially when they are reminded to get their flu shots. However, dedicated scientists at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) still refer to the memory of the 1918 flu in their day-to-day work. This is because the 1918 flu pandemic is sometimes called the “mother of all human flu viruses”. In fact, almost all cases of influenza A have been caused by flu viruses that can be genetically traced back to the 1918 flu. 2018 ...
U of M researchers decode the Spanish Flu, advance in microbial ‘arms race’ AUGUST 14, 2018 — The 1918 “Spanish Flu” was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, killing 50-100 million people. To this day influenza is a major health concern, having killed another 50-100 million people since 1918. The most recent pandemic was the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009.
“Unlike some other noteworthy diseases, like Smallpox, the flu can infect many different animals including marine life, aquatic birds and other land animals,” said Kevin Coombs, a professor of medical microbiology in the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. “Therefore, there is little chance of eradicating the virus and the virus’ genetic plasticity allows the flu to rapidly mutate to evade vaccines and anti-virals.”
A new study, published in EBioMedicine by lead authors Coombs and Dr. Darwyn Kobasa from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and co-author Dr. Charlene Ranadheera, PHAC, succeeded in measuring thousands of dysregulated cellular proteins. They noticed that many proteins not identified in earlier studies were affected by the Spanish Flu.
Using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facilities in the Manitoba Centre for Proteomics and Systems Biology at the University of Manitoba to measure upregulation and downregulation of thousands of cellular proteins after virus infection, they compared how the 1918 virus activated specific cellular pathways.
The research team, funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and PHAC, found that the Spanish Flu, unlike other flu viruses, induced specific and unique changes early in infection in a master cellular regulator, the Akt/mTOR pathway.
This, Coombs says, suggests that the Spanish Flu had an unusual requirement for this cellular pathway and points the way to more focused studies to prevent future flu pandemics.
“The important differences could explain how it (Spanish Flu) interacts with the cells it infects. This interaction is what made the Spanish Flu so deadly,” Coombs said. “Better understanding host cell responses to the flu may be the only way to stay ahead in the microbial ‘arms race’ in order to prevent re-emergence of this and of other deadly flu viruses.”
2020 ...
Pandemic parallels: Univ. of Manitoba expert compares Spanish flu and COVID-19 APRIL 30, 2020 — A Rady Faculty of Health Sciences professor with experience studying the Spanish flu says there are parallels between the deadly virus from 1918 and today’s novel coronavirus, and he is hopeful a vaccine will be developed.
Dr. Kevin Coombs, a professor in the department of medical microbiology and infectious diseases, Max Rady College of Medicine, researched the Spanish flu for a study that was published in EBioMedicine in 2018.
The study compared how Spanish flu reacted and the types of proteins it affected in cells compared to other mild or highly pathogenic viruses. The research team, which included Dr. Darwyn Kobasa, Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Dr. Charlene Ranadheera, PHAC, noticed that the Spanish flu affected many proteins not identified in other studies.