Medicago’s homegrown, plant-based COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada
Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine is now approved by Health Canada,
which will soon give Canadians the option of getting a homegrown shot against SARS-CoV-2.
Regulators announced the decision to allow its use for adults 18 to 64 years of age on Thursday,
making this the sixth vaccine approved in Canada, on the heels of Health Canada’s approval of the Novavax shot last week.
In what the biopharmaceutical company calls a world first, the vaccine from Quebec City-based Medicago uses plant-derived,
virus-like particles, which resemble the coronavirus behind COVID-19 but don’t contain its genetic material.
The shots also contain an adjuvant from British-American vaccine giant GlaxoSmithKline to help boost the immune response.
In December, the companies reported high efficacy levels against infection as they geared up for regulatory approval.