An Australian-developed COVID-19 vaccine has shown promising results in pre-clinical testing, raising hopes for its potential effectiveness and manufacturability.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

The University of Queensland (UQ) released detailed results of animal trials of its vaccine candidate on August 25 to the International Society for Vaccines, Xinhua news agency reported. UQ's "Molecular Clamp" vaccine works by locking on to the normally unstable, perfusion proteins on the surface of the virus, allowing the body's immune system to respond more effectively.

"The neutralizing immune response created by our molecular clamp vaccine in animal models was better than the average level of antibodies found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19," Project co-leader Associate Professor Keith Chappell said. Phase 1 human trials for the drug commenced in Australia in July, prior to the current pre-clinical trial results being made public.