Researchers from the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford and Caltech have collaboratively developed a new vaccine technology that has proven to provide protection against a wide range of coronaviruses, including those that have not yet emerged.
Published in Nature Nanotechnology and funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the new ‘proactive vaccinology’ approach aims to build a vaccine before the disease-causing pathogen emerges in preparation for future outbreaks.
Most conventional vaccines involve a single antigen to train the immune system to target a single specific virus, potentially not protecting against a diverse range of existing coronaviruses or against newly emerging pathogens.
Building on previous work conducted by the University of Oxford and Caltech, the novel all-in-one ‘Quartet Nanocage’ vaccine works to train the body’s immune system to recognise specific regions of eight types of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-1, SARS-CoV-2 and several others circulating in bats that have the potential to cause a human pandemic.
For example, despite not including the SARS-CoV-1 coronavirus, the vaccine still induces an immune response to that virus.
Based on a nanoparticle structure – a ball of proteins bound together by strong interactions – the vaccine demonstrated an increased broad immune response in mice that were pre-immunised with SARS-CoV-2.
“We don’t have to wait for new coronaviruses to emerge,” said professor Mark Howarth, department of pharmacology, University of Cambridge.
He continued: “We know enough about coronaviruses and different immune responses to them that we can get going with building protective vaccines against unknown coronaviruses now.”
Much simpler in design compared to other vaccines, the technology has the potential for use in vaccine development to protect against many other health challenges and the vaccine is intended to enter phase 1 clinical trials in early 2025.
Rory Hills, graduate researcher, department of pharmacology, University of Cambridge, said: “Our focus [was] to create a vaccine that will protect us against the next coronavirus pandemic and have it ready before the pandemic has even started.
“We’ve created a vaccine that provides protection against a broad range of different coronaviruses – including ones we don’t even know about yet.”