Development of a pan-covid-19 vaccine candidate
Ended Project Grant Awarded Last action
- Award ID
- R41AI181134
- Recipient
-
RNA Therapeutics Inc. UEI DLVLULLCPB38
- Awarding agency
-
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services
- Obligated
- $299,967
Award facts
- Assistance listing
- 93.855 Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research
- Completion date
- Originally
- Place of performance
- Texas, USA
Award details come from USAspending.gov.
Description
- Abstract
- The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars- COV-2), has impacted global public health in an unprecedented manner. Vaccination is considered one of the most effective countermeasures against infectious diseases, including covid-19. Although rapid development of first-generation covid-19 vaccines (principally targeting the viral spike protein) provided early hope for ending the pandemic, the emergence of sars-COV-2 variants has posed a constant challenge. A pan-covid- 19 vaccine that provides broad protection against current and emerging variants is urgently needed to end the pandemic and to prevent future recurrences. Mrna formulated in lipid-nanoparticles (mrna-LNP) has emerged as a safe and versatile vaccine delivery platform. RNA therapeutics, INC. Is a startup biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, mrna-based vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases. Its academic partner, DR. Haitao HU's laboratory at the university of texas medical branch (utmb), recently reported a promising pan-covid-19 mrna vaccine candidate (hajnik RL, STM 2022). The HU laboratory generated an mrna vaccine expressing the nucleocapsid protein (n) of the ancestral sars-COV-2 strain, which is more conserved among variants (termed as mrna-n). Animal studies showed that mrna-n is highly immunogenic and elicits strong t-cell and binding antibody responses. The vaccine alone confers modest cross protection against sars-COV-2 delta and omicron variants of concern (VOC). Interestingly, combining mrna-n with the clinically proven ancestral spike mrna vaccine (mrna-s) induces robust cross protection against both delta and omicron vocs (mrna-s+n). These data support a hypothesis that a vaccine approach targeting conserved viral protein, in addition to s, will elicit cross- reactive immunity and provide broad protection against sars-COV-2 variants. With this technology in hand, RNA therapeutics, INC. And utmb propose a phase-i sttr application to further develop the mrna vaccine candidate through two specific aims. Aim 1 will examine the durability of protective efficacy of the vaccine in hamsters. Aim 2 will determine protective efficacy of mrna-n as a component of booster regimens. Impact: upon successful completion of this phase-i sttr, we will submit a phase-II application that will focus on advanced product development. Our project is expected to develop a pan-covid- 19 mrna vaccine that provides broad protection against emerging sars-COV-2 variants and the long-term goal is to advance this vaccine to clinical testing and approval. Given the proven safety of mrna-LNP, the vaccine has high potential to be approved for human use in future.
Transactions
| Action | Obligated | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Amendment | $0 | |
| Original award | $299,967 |
Quick answers
Who received award R41AI181134?
R41AI181134 was awarded to RNA Therapeutics Inc. by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (National Institutes of Health) on March 13, 2024.
How much is award R41AI181134 worth?
$299,967 has been obligated on R41AI181134.
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