As the delta variant rips across the world, boosting coronavirus cases in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations alike, U.S. biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong thinks he has an answer: a universal booster shot that adds T-cells to the body’s armory against the pathogen. Most Covid vaccines aim to spark production of protective proteins called antibodies, but ImmunityBio, of which Soon-Shiong owns about 13%, will this quarter start testing a vaccine aimed at making T-cells, another important part of the immune response. ImmunityBio’s hAd5 vaccine will be tested as a booster in some of the 485,000 South African health workers who received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson dose as part of a trial known as Sisonke.  Patrick Soon-Shiong Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg What Soon-Shiong and ImmunityBio hope to prove is that boosting both antibodies and T-cells will give lasting immunity and limit the breakthrough infections seen even in countries like the U.S. and U.K., where about half the population is fully vaccinated. They also plan to test delivery methods including capsules, oral droplets and a nasal spray — any of which might be easier to distribute in countries with limited infrastructure. Second-generation vaccine developers like ImmunityBio are looking for a role in fighting the pandemic after the success of messenger RNA shots from Moderna, the partnership of Pfizer and BioNTech, and adenovirus-based vaccines from AstraZeneca and J&J. Potent coronavirus variants such as delta, first identified in India, have provided an opportunity. Soon-Shiong faces competition from new vaccines planned by companies such as Sanofi. Established Covid-19 vaccine makers such as Pfizer are also planning their own boosters. South Africa’s Sisonke trial could be used to test those too, says Glenda Gray, co-leader of that study. South Africa-born Soon-Shiong is betting that, at least in Africa, his company is in pole position. He’s talking to local companies including the Biovac Institute about manufacturing collaborations, or may have ImmunityBio go it alone. Either way, it’s good news for a continent with extremely limited vaccine- production capacity and a population of 1.2 billion that’s lagging the world in Covid immunization.—Antony Sguazzin and Janice Kew | 
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