COVID's Shifting Landscape and Disease X Preparedness

Eris (EG.5)

Informally known as Eris and named after the Greek goddess of strife and discord, EG.5 is the latest subvariant that has become the dominant strain in the US and Canada, now representing 20% of all cases.

First, the good news: 1) EG.5 doesn’t appear to be any more virulent (dangerous) than Omicron and hospitalizations are not expected to rise to previous levels 2) no new symptoms are being observed.?

The bad news: 1) EG.5 is the most contagious strain yet 2) the new mutations allow it to evade both natural immunity and immunity from COVID vaccines and boosters 3) new studies show an increase in the onset of new chronic health conditions resulting from COVID infections.

Eris is not the only new variant (of concern) quickly increasing in the US and Canada.

As we’ve shared in the past, the majority of the mutations on the virus are occurring on the spike protein. As a reminder, the spike protein is used by the virus to infect our cells with the virus’ payload. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines present the spike protein to our immune system with the intention of creating an immune response. As the spike protein mutates, it further evades these “updated” boosters and even the natural immunity from previous infection. You may remember that we noted back in 2020 that this approach would only provide short-lived protection and would quickly become an ineffective strategy as the virus would mutate faster than boosters could be designed, tested and brought to market.

Eyam continues to believe the data will show that its Jennerator designed vaccines will offer a more robust and longer lasting alternative to current approaches.

Disease X

You may have heard the term “Disease X” in the news over the summer. This is a term being used in the scientific community to anticipate and prepare for future viruses and pandemics. As we’ve written about in the past, historically, there are 2-4 viruses that are identified and make the jump from animals into humans (zoonotic diseases) every year. The majority of these viruses never get very far and don’t cause the turmoil that we’ve experienced over the last several years. We do know, though, that these zoonotic diseases are increasing.?

As humans develop previously virgin environments, lower income countries increase the mass cultivation of livestock, and vulnerable populations of both humans and animals migrate to new regions, all of these increase the opportunity for a virus to jump from animals into humans. The big issue with the jump of these viruses is that humans not previously infected by these viruses may be especially susceptible. This is not even mentioning the “gain of function” research that we previously wrote about.

Preparing for Disease X

At Eyam, we are building a coalition of partners from manufacturing to clinical trial partners, with academics and industry leaders to offer a pandemic ready solution for Disease X. Our audacious goal is to build a process that reduces the time to design, test, and manufacture vaccines from months down to weeks.?

The work has already begun by bringing together like minded partners with proven track records and engaging relevant members of government and other industry partners committed to offering solutions that are safer, faster and more effective.?

The design work starts with our bioinformaticians who take the virus’ sequences and combine the relevant genetic data necessary for the creation of a universal vaccine. The Jennerator then produces dozens of vaccine candidates which are quickly tested with data fed back into the platform to perfect its design. Lead candidates are then selected and tested in animals. Our clinical trial partners then present our safety data to the relevant regulatory bodies while our manufacturing partners prepare the vaccines for human experiments, creating high quality and safe vaccines.

We’ve made great strides this summer and are excited for what the rest of the year will bring.