Cooperative Agreement AP23OA000000C010

This $906,036 cooperative agreement from the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will fund the development of a multi-species edible vaccine to prevent transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the human-animal interface and impacts on the food supply. Plantpharm Biomed LTD will develop an edible vaccine that can be supplied to and self-administered by wild animals through practical and inexpensive means, in collaboration with USDA APHIS and state wildlife agencies. The vaccine will be grown in potato plants and delivered through feed at wildlife stations. Subawards totaling $200,000 will support work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to transform plants to produce SARS-CoV-2 antigens, test antigen efficacy, and conduct animal challenge tests on pigs and humanized mice to determine vaccine effectiveness. This cooperative agreement supports the goals of the USDA's Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program to protect U.S. agriculture from economically injurious diseases and pests.