In 2023, the Korean Medical Association recommended that immunocompromised people be vaccinated against the flu and COVID-19 simultaneously ahead of the winter season. The news that both arms should be injected was like a bolt from the blue for children. However, a substance capable of multitasking, one that simultaneously prevents and treats the flu as well as COVID-19, has recently been announced, drawing attention from the public.
The research team led by Professor Seung-Woo Lee (LIFE), Subin Park and Yujin L. Jeong of Integrated Life Sciences Course, and Dr. Donghoon Choi of NeoImmuneTech Co., Ltd. have discovered new drug candidates that can be used as prevention and treatment for major respiratory viral infections through joint research with Gyeongbuk Institute for Bioindustry and International Vaccine Institute. The study was recently published in Cell Reports Medicine, an international journal.
Recently, the number of people infected with COVID-19 has been increasing again worldwide, centering on ‘JN.1’, a new variant of COVID-19. Vaccines are effective against specific viruses, but it takes time to develop new vaccines whenever such mutated viruses appear. Effectively, this has the potential to lead to another public health crisis like that of the last pandemic.
The research team studied the possibility that long-acting recombinant cytokine rhIL-7-hyFc (NT-I7; efineptakin alfa), which is under clinical development as a new immunotherapy drug, can be used as a treatment for major respiratory viruses, focusing on the ability to activate various immune cells in the respiratory tract. As a result of the experiment, this protein induced the inflow of acquired T cells in the lungs and the proliferation of Innate-like T cells. As if they were working by the mechanisms they had since birth, Innate-like T cells enabled rapid and wide-ranging defense against various pathogens. Conclusively, they all showed therapeutic and preventive effects against COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial viruses.
Prof. Lee said, “Through industry-academic-research cooperation, we have found clues to prepare for a future respiratory virus pandemic,” and added, “We will continue our research to make the possibility of a universal treatment for controlling simultaneous and serial infections of respiratory viruses and bacteria a reality.”
