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Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection through development and clinical testing of a novel Virus Like Particle (VLP) vaccine

Project description

A novel vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus

There is an ongoing race towards the development of a vaccine against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The EU-funded Prevent-nCoV project will use proprietary technology to develop a novel and scalable vaccine with proven efficacy in an animal model. The technology uniquely combines virus-like particles (VLP) and the antigen of choice produced by any expression system. The two components are mixed under physiological conditions, leading to the high-density display of the antigen on the VLP surface. Vaccine candidates will initially be tested for their virus neutralisation capacity in vitro and in preclinical infection models before proceeding with a phase I/IIa study.

Objective

Our aim is to perform pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of a potential Wuhan Coronavirus vaccine candidate. The vaccine will be based on Virus-Like Particle (VLP) display of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein antigen. AdaptVac's VLP display technology has been shown to significantly improve vaccine immunogenicity, longevity and efficacy, for a wide range of viral and parasite diseases in pre-clinical studies (including flu and malaria). A unique feature of the technology is its two-component approach. The VLP is generic to all vaccines, and produced at >1g/L yields using E. coli. The disease antigen is produced in any expression system, allowing the most challenging antigens to be successfully produced. The VLP and antigen is then simply mixed, and a spontaneous, irreversible, conjugation
occurs under physiological conditions. This results in site-specific, directional, and high-density display of the antigen on the VLP surface. The antigen will be produced using ExpreS2ion's Drosophila S2 insect cells based on the trimetric spike antigen. Furthermore, E. coli and baculovirus will be tested for Spike protein variants. The vaccine candidates will be tested pre-clinically using in vitro viral neutralization assays and possibly animal challenge
models as they become available at LUMC. ExpreS2ion will develop the production processes and transfer these for GMP manufacture of the VLP and vaccine antigen, outsourced, to AGC Biologics. Finally, a phase I/IIa study will be performed at Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands. A surrogate marker of protection will be established by showing protection in animal models using passive transfer of participant sera, or by in vitro SARS-CoV-2 viral neutralization. This project is focused on delivering a scalable vaccine, ready for testing in the field, which has been shown to be safe in humans and effective in in vitro or animal models.

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Keywords

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Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

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Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

RIA - Research and Innovation action

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SC1-PHE-CORONAVIRUS-2020

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Coordinator

KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 128 647,50
Address
NORREGADE 10
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 128 647,50

Participants (8)

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