Genetically engineered cows are being used in an American trial to develop a virus against COVID-19.

SAB Biotherapeutics says its genetically engineered cows show the same immune response as survivors of diseases such as COVID-19.

It says testing on cows could speed up the process of delivering a vaccine as it would eliminate the need to identify, screen and draw blood from recovering human volunteers.

“As a ruminant, cows inherently have a more robust immune response than humans. This response is stimulated when an immunogen specifically and exclusively targeted to a virus, such as SARS-CoV-2, is introduced, activating the entire disease fighting force of human antibodies,” SAB Biotherapeutics said.

“We further boost the response with a specialised vaccine formulation and strategy that maintains a high level of antibody production over an extended period of time and targets plasma collection at the highest levels.”

The company said there were many benefits to using cows in a trial. It said that cows could be injected with a non-infectious subunit and produce antibodies to the immunogen without becoming infected or getting sick.

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