Unmet Need
Respiratory pathogens are a major contributor to global economic and public health crises. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, new vaccine technologies have been developed to improve the response to emerging pathogens. However, questions remain regarding how to deal with pathogens that have the potential to cause future pandemics. New vaccination strategies must succeed in several key areas including rapid production, robust and diverse immune responses, and optimized stability throughout the supply chain. Tackling these key areas of development will not only save lives, but also provide global health equity, especially in the developing world. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new vaccine modalities that meet these criteria.
Value Proposition
· This DNA vaccine technology elicits robust T cell mediated immunity in the lung, promoting vaccine immunogenicity for respiratory pathogens like SARS-CoV-2.
· DNA vaccine constructs such as this provide advantages over classical vaccines, including ease of production and enhanced stability at room temperature.
Technology Description
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a DNA vaccine construct comprised of the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein fused to a chemokine adjuvant. This vaccine, when administered intranasally to mice, elicits a stronger RBD-specific T cell immune response in the lung than administration of an RBD-only DNA vaccine. Moreover, vaccines using this same chemokine fusion protein are immunogenic when using tuberculosis specific antigen.
Stage of Development
The vaccine has been tested in mice. The investigators are looking for partners to conduct IND-enabling studies of their SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in a non-human primate model.
Publication
N/A
