Genexine’s process to develop the Covid-19 vaccine is being delayed, as the company recently changed its Covid-19 vaccine candidate material and received approval for the new plan from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

According to company officials on Friday, Genexine has changed the substance from GX-19 to GX-19N and will reconduct phase 1 and 2a clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Genexine decided to switch the vaccine substance to GX-19N. The company found it difficult to secure the market share with the existing material based on the phase 1 study results, which had not shown superior efficacy compared to its competitors.

The company acknowledged the research would be delayed as it takes about eight to 10 weeks to see the results.

GX-19N retained the physical properties of GX-19 and can trigger a broader range of immune responses due to newly added antigens, Genexine said.

Genexine plans to wait and see how long the Covid-19 vaccine will remain effective after containing the pandemic and whether it can cope with the mutated coronavirus that will emerge in the future.

This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study explores the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of the Covid-19 vaccine GX-19N in healthy adults.

The company will conduct the trials in eight hospitals, including two Severance Hospital in Seoul, and recruit 20 adults for phase 1 and 150 for phase 2 trials.

“We expect the results of the first study to come out in about three months,” an official of Genexine said. “As no one knows how long the preventive effect of the first-generation Covid-19 shot will last with the risk of re-infection, we will develop a vaccine with an upgraded immune response that remains effective for long.”