Health Canada approves Medicago’s plant-based COVID-19 vaccine

Canada is now the first country to approve the use of a plant-based COVID-19 vaccine.

Regulators said Thursday adults aged 18 to 64 can be given Medicago’s two-dose vaccine, but said there’s not enough data on the shots in people 65 and older.

An infectious diseases physician in Hamilton said this plant-based vaccine offers another option for those who are reluctant to get inoculated.

“There were people who were hesitant to take mRNA vaccines or viral vector vaccines,” Dr. Zain Chagla said in an interview on Morning Live Friday. “Novavax and Medicago vaccines will offer an alternative to those individuals so that they get the same protections from this virus as everyone else.”

The decision was based on a study of 24,000 adults that found the vaccine was 71 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19, however that was before the omicron variant emerged. Side effects were mild, including fever and fatigue.

Medicago uses plants as living factories to grow virus-like particles, which mimic the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. The particles are removed from the plants’ leaves and purified.

Another ingredient, an immune-boosting chemical called an adjuvant that is made by British partner GlaxoSmithKline, is added to the shots. 

While multiple COVID-19 vaccines have been rolled out around the world, global health authorities are looking to more candidates in hopes of increasing the worldwide supply.

“It’s Canadian-manufactured, meaning our supply chains are much more reasonable,” Chagla said.

Quebec City-based Medicago is producing plant-based vaccines against other diseases, and the COVID-19 vaccine may help spur more interest in this new method of medical manufacturing.