Objective
Although vaccination is the cornerstone of prophylaxis, current vaccines provide only moderate protection. Most employ inactivated or protein-based, including multimeric antigen, vaccines requiring annual updating. Their limited antigen loads provide limited capacity for inducing robust immune defences, without assurance that both humoral and cell mediated (CMI) responses, as well as durable immunity, will be induced. Replicating vaccines may provide several rounds of antigen production, increasing potential for humoral and CMI defence induction. Neither live, attenuated nor vector vaccines can be produced synthetically, being reliant on cell culture or egg production. They cannot be targeted to immune cells; interference from pre-existing immunity is also a risk.
Efficacious, synthetic vaccines would be the answer, as seen with self-replicating RNA replicon (RepRNA) technology – these replicate and translate without producing infectious progeny. RepRNA produced in vitro is combined with synthetic delivery vehicles targeting dendritic cell (DC) receptors –essential for efficient immune defences– with glycoconjugate ligands. The UniVax project promotes the first synergising of approaches with synthetic targeted delivery systems for RepRNA. The innovation integrates technologies of (i) RepRNA vaccines, (ii) lipoplexes (biodegradable lipid/adjuvant/RNA for cytosolic delivery), (iii) polyplexes (biodegradable, polysaccharide vehicles), (iv) glycoconjugates targeting DC receptors, (v) adjuvants with well-defined molecular targets and effector functions. This promotes efficacious mucosal and systemic responses, ensuring for the first time both humoral and CMI responses. Components developed in PANFLUVAC and Replixcel projects allow UniVax to create the first Universal” Flu vaccine prototypes. This innovative approach creates the first synthetic vaccine of its kind, promoting consortium SMEs to a unique position of world leaders.
Fields of science
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseasesRNA virusesinfluenza
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculeslipids
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculescarbohydrates
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsRNA
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research project
Coordinator
3003 Bern
Switzerland
See on map
Participants (10)
13288 Marseille
See on map
117997 Moskva
See on map
49000 Angers
See on map
82152 Martinsried
See on map
28125 Konarovice
See on map
75794 Paris
See on map
M13 9PL Manchester
See on map
38124 Braunschweig
See on map
5020 Bergen
See on map
10117 Berlin
See on map