21Nov
05Nov
India to Start Clinical Trials of US-Based Second Generation, Low-Cost Covid-19 Vaccine
India will soon start clinical trials of US-based Akston Biosciences second-generation Covid-19 vaccine — one of the most promising candidates that can be rapidly produced at a low cost, suitable for repeated dosing if immunity wanes and requires no refrigeration. The vaccine samples have been sent to the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kasauli as a protocol for checking the safety prior to starting its use in clinical trials. Read more >>
30Sep
The Next COVID Challenge: Building an Arsenal of Vaccines
For months, international partners have pressured the United States about intellectual property (IP) concerns and access to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. As the country emerges from the worst of the pandemic, President Joe Biden now has an opportunity to shift his administration’s focus to realizing its longstanding promise of making the United States “the arsenal of vaccines for the world” (1). However, the country cannot accomplish that goal just by exporting mRNA vaccines and waiving IP protections. The current generation of vaccines...
08Sep
Second-generation vaccines offer a chance to correct flaws in early vaccination campaigns
...The vaccine candidate known as AKS-452, from Massachusetts-based Akston Biosciences, is one promising example of a jab which could address vaccine inequity and vaccine hesitancy alike. Following promising Phase I trial data which found that AKS-452 was safe, well-tolerated, and achieved a 100% seroconversion rate even after a single 90 µg dose, the vaccine candidate is now undergoing Phase II trials in the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) in the Netherlands. Read more >>
01Sep
More accessible Covid-19 vaccines and community engagement key for rural areas
...Fortunately, many of these challenges may be alleviated when second-generation Covid vaccines come on the market. One candidate currently in Phase II trials, Akston Biosciences' AKS-452, is shelf-stable for six months at room temperature and can even withstand temperatures up to 37°C for one month. Crucially, this allows the jab to be transported and stored for months without refrigeration. Read more >>
21Aug
Second Wave of COVID-19 Vaccines Could Resolve Vaccine Inequity
There’s one significant ray of hope for those frustrated by vaccine inequity: second-generation coronavirus vaccines are currently showing promise in clinical trials, many of which may prove highly effective as well as cheaper and easier to distribute around the world. The AKS-452 candidate produced by Massachusetts-based Akston Biosciences, for example, recently entered Phase II trials at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands. Read more >>
13Aug
mRNA deals will not solve Africa’s vaccine shortfall, but the second generation of vaccines may
...One especially promising option for overcoming sub-Saharan Africa’s logistical constraints is currently being trialled by Massachusetts-based firm Akston Biosciences, whose shelf-stable vaccine candidate entered Phase I/II trials in the Netherlands earlier this year. Akston’s AKS-452 vaccine has already shown positive results in initial analyses, producing a robust antibody response to strains of Covid such as the alpha and gamma variants. Read more >>
13Aug
Todd Zion, PhD, CEO and Repeat Founder, “Magical Proteins”
Welcome to Angel Invest Boston, conversations with Boston's most interesting founders and angels. I'm Sal Daher, an angel investor who is very curious to find out how to best build really great technology companies. Today, I am privileged to have with me as my guest, Todd Zion. Founder of Akston Bio, which is a very interesting company. Todd is a successful second-time founder. He had an exit to Merck, a $500 million exit to Merck of a diabetes therapy, which...
06Aug
Akston Biosciences Doses First Subjects in Phase II Clinical Trial of Second-Generation Protein Subunit COVID-19 Vaccine
Akston Biosciences Corporation, a developer of new classes of biologic therapeutics, announced today that the first participants have been dosed in a Phase II open-label trial of AKS-452, its protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Fifty-two volunteers will receive either one- or two-dose regimens as part of the Phase II trial conducted at University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), one of the largest hospitals in the Netherlands. Read more >>
22Jul