Project description
An alternative to vaccines for a widespread virus
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has infected 33 million people that includes most children under 2 years. Yet, there is no vaccine for this virus that kills 120 000 people annually. Researching a way to circumvent viral infection, the RSVTriVax project has worked on the use of epitope-focused immunogens that can be produced at low cost as an alternative to vaccine development. TriVax boosts subdominant functional antibodies, and trials on non-human primates have been successful and shown to be safe. TriVax is targeted towards pregnant women and the elderly, providing prevention and coverage at much lower cost to public health.
Objective
The development of a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine is deemed a global health priority by the World Health Organization. Globally, RSV causes 33 million episodes of infection and up to 120,000 deaths annually. The most affected populations are pre-term infants, young children and the elderly. Several decades of intensive research are yet to yield a clinically approved vaccine. This failure is mostly attributed to sophisticated viral mechanisms that prevent the induction of protective antibodies (Abs). Using cutting-edge molecular design tools, we developed a novel vaccine candidate (TriVax) to focus immune responses in such key neutralization epitopes. TriVax is a cocktail composed of three epitope-focused immunogens mimicking three distinct neutralization epitopes targeted by potent neutralizing Abs. Our primary target populations are pregnant women (protection of pre-term infants) and elderly, where the challenge is to boost subdominant, neutralizing Abs elicited during previous natural infections. Recently, we showed that epitope-focused immunogens are exquisite at boosting subdominant functional Abs, and in this scenario, superior to the strongest competitor vaccine candidates. In a preliminary study in Non-Human Primates, TriVax showed great promise by eliciting robust neutralization on an RSV naïve cohort, suggesting a good safety profile and the potential to emerge as a competitive alternative for vaccine development. For manufacturing, epitope-focused immunogens are simple and stable molecules that can be produced at low cost. Overall, we propose a viable vaccine formulation to protect against an important pathogen which carries large financial burdens on public health systems. Thus, our proposal has an important societal and financial impact, and will provide compelling evidence for Trivax to boost neutralizing Abs in a close-to-human animal model, thereby taking an essential step to consolidate the commercial potential of our vaccine.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy primatology
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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.
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.
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum Pilot
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2019-PoC
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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.
1015 LAUSANNE
Switzerland
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.