Locally-developed vaccine technology abandoned early in the COVID-19 pandemic has been revived. 

University of Queensland scientists had to drop out of the initial race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in late 2020 after recipients in an early human trial of their molecular clamp technology falsely tested positive to HIV.

However, tests have continued for a new generation of the molecular clamp - dubbed Clamp2 - which could help produce future vaccines and save lives without concerns about false positive HIV tests.

UQ molecular virologist Keith Chappell says a “proof of concept” human trial of a Clamp2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) will begin in Brisbane next March.

“We never lost our belief that this was a technology that was needed to create vaccines and save lives,” Associate Professor Chappell said.

“It's been a rollercoaster ride. We're riding high again and feeling really excited about what's to come.”

Up to 35 volunteers will be given a Clamp2 COVID vaccine and the same number will receive Novavax to compare the UQ technology against an already approved COVID-19 shot.

“We believe, and we've shown in animal studies, that Clamp2 is just as safe and effective as the first vaccine we tested in clinical trials,” A/Prof Chappell said.

“Everything we've done has been comparing the original with the new platform. It has performed equivalent or better across every virus we've tested, and there is no evidence of any diagnostic interference with HIV tests.”

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has pledged up to $8.5 million to support further development of Clamp2.