Medicago is a worldwide leader in the development of VLP vaccines using a transient expression system which produces recombinant vaccine antigens in plants. This technology has potential to offer more potent vaccines with speed and cost advantages over competitive technologies, enabling the development of a vaccine for testing in approximately one month after the identification and reception of genetic sequences from a pandemic strain.

This production time frame has the potential to allow vaccination of the population before the first wave of a pandemic, and supply large volumes of vaccine antigens to the world market. Medicago also intends to expand development into other areas such as biosimilars and biodefense products.

Medicago has reported positive results from its Phase II clinical trial with its avian flu H5 pandemic vaccine candidate. Medicago also reported positive results from a US Phase I human clinical trial with its seasonal influenza vaccine candidate. Based on these results and subject to regulatory approval, Medicago intends to proceed with a US Phase IIa trial for its seasonal quadrivalent vaccine with the recommended H1N1, H3N2 and two B influenza strains.

In March 2020, Medicago announced the successful production of Virus-Like Particle (VLPs) of the coronavirus just 20 days after obtaining the SARS-CoV-2 (virus causing the COVID-19 disease) gene.

Production of VLPs is the first step in developing a vaccine against COVID-19 before preclinical testing for safety and efficacy.