Platform for generating a seasonal vaccine for both influenza and coronaviruses
Unmet Need
Similar to the flu vaccine, the need for seasonal post-immunization boosting to offer protection following COVID-19 vaccines remains possible. However, more than 8 percent of people who received a first dose of Pfizer or Moderna have missed their second dose. With only 51.8% of Americans receiving the annual flu vaccine and 37.3% receiving the COVID vaccine so far, it’s pertinent to maintain or increase patient compliance. However, these currently have to be administered as separate vaccines which can increase the chances of missed or unscheduled appointments for one or both vaccines. There is a need for technologies that enable a single seasonal vaccination that targets both influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2.
Technology
Duke inventors have developed a platform vaccine technology that can produce a single seasonal vaccine that immunizes patients against both influenza viruses and coronaviruses. Specifically, this is a recombinant influenza A virus genetic platform that reprograms the virus to package an immunogenic domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein onto the virus particle. This technology can be used as either a live-attenuated or inactivated vaccine. The technology has been demonstrated to elicit a strong neutralizing antibody response and protect mice from lethal disease after challenge with influenza A virus and SARS-CoV-2.
Advantages
- Offers a single vaccine solution for both influenza and coronaviruses
- Unlike other combination vaccines, allows one growth to produce both antigens
- Cost-effective and scalable by leveraging established influenza vaccine infrastructure
- Can be easily adapted for seasonal vaccine reformulation
- Demonstrated to protect mice from lethal response to both influenza A and SARS-CoV-2