Biopharmaceutical company Premas Biotech reported on Wednesday that its joint venture Oravax Medical is to begin tests on its oral virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV 2 virus through preclinical, in vitro and challenge studies.

Premas Biotech said it formed Oravax Medical with Oramed Pharmaceuticals and MyMD Pharmaceuticals, as well as certain other shareholders, to bring an oral COVID-19 vaccine to the market. Testing will assess the vaccine's efficacy for the new mutant strain Omicron.

Prabuddha Kundu, PhD, co-founder and MD at Premas Biotech, commented: "Oravax's virus-like particle vaccine candidate was designed knowing the high probability for mutations occurring to Spike protein, which we are witnessing now. Our oral vaccine candidate is a triple antigen vaccine which besides the Spike protein also includes Membrane and Envelope proteins, both of which are not known to mutate. We are now initiating preclinical in-vitro testing and challenge studies for our oral vaccine candidate against the recently defined variant of concern (VOC) Omicron."

The company added that the Oravax oral vaccine candidate has received clearance from South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to begin enrollment in phase I clinical trials in South Africa. If approved, Oravax's oral VLP vaccine candidate would be used either as a standalone vaccine or as a booster for previously vaccinated individuals.