PVX-001: open-source Covid-19 vaccine starts Phase 1 trial

lysace

Congrats! I understand that you tried with the US first and was forced to rethink. Why Australia?

ktallett

This is fantastic and would be brilliant as a guide to how medicine needs to be.

usrnm

What does it even mean for a vaccine to be open-source?

sohamsankaran

I'm the founder of PopVax -- here's some context on this vaccine: PVX-001 is a broadly-protective COVID-19 vaccine candidate intended to protect against new variants of SARS-CoV-2 even as the virus mutates. It is built on our RNA-encoded virus-like particle (VLP) architecture to elicit a broad & potent immune response. Our lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulation, based on our own novel ionizable lipid PVXL-150, keeps the vaccine stable at 2-8 °C, regular refrigerator temperatures, for at least 9 months, rather than the -20 or -80 °C required by the first-generation mRNA vaccines approved for COVID-19. This will make it far easier to distribute the vaccine in developing countries. The vaccine was largely funded by Vitalik Buterin's scientific investment fund Balvi -- in collaboration with them, we've made a commitment to making this vaccine open-source. Once the Phase I trial of PVX-001 concludes, we will open-source the design and manufacturing information needed for others to produce and build on it, and we will not enforce our intellectual property rights against anyone who uses it to make vaccines against any betacoronavirus -- the viral genus that includes SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. We are doing this because SARS-CoV-2 and its close cousins remain a substantial pandemic risk. In just the past few decades, they have caused one major epidemic (SARS), one close call (MERS), and one global pandemic that killed millions. The designs developed after the original SARS outbreak gave the first generation of COVID-19 vaccines a crucial head start in 2020. We want humanity to have an even better head start next time: a broadly-protective, refrigerator-stable vaccine that any scientist, vaccine producer, or member of the public, located anywhere, can improve, adapt to their needs, and manufacture without having to worry about IP.

ck2

btw there are still 600 deaths per month from covid in the US every month, even in 2026 remember that when you hear 6 deaths from measles in all of 2026 both preventable tragedies and millions suffering long-covid maybe for remainder of miserable lives

sportsracersss

Well written blog post, very inspiring what you're doing. Thank you!