UDUS produces COVID-19 vaccine

The first COVID-19 vaccine produced in Nigeria is ready for preclinical trial. The vaccine, codenamed “SJN3T CorVac”, was produced by the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) under the sponsorship of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Daily Trust learnt that some tertiary institutions and centres were engaged by TETFund with a grant of N450m to produce indigenous COVID-19 vaccines within 18 months. They include UDUS; University of Jos (Unijos); National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), Vom; Nigeria Medical Research Institute (NMRI), Yaba; and the National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria.

UDUS was to design and construct a DNA vaccine candidate while Unijos was to carry out preclinical trial of the vaccine candidate. NIMR was to design and construct a peptide subunit vaccine candidate, while NARICT and NVRI were to develop the vehicle for the delivery of the vaccines and upscale the production of the vaccine candidates respectively.

Presenting the vaccine candidates to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, on Monday, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of UDUS, Prof Lawal Bilbis, said the vaccine candidates were produced within 11 months of the receipt of the first tranche of the grant.

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He said, “More specifically, this milestone portrays our expertise in the application of state-of-the-art technologies to rapidly develop vaccine candidates against emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases in Nigeria,” noting that the university had produced vaccine candidates for Lassa fever and other infectious diseases.

Receiving the vaccine, Echono commended the university, saying it was steadily growing in strength in terms of problem solving research.