Intravacc has announced that a pre-clinical study of its intranasal outer membrane vesicle (OMV)-based recombinant spike protein (rSP) vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 nose spray vaccine in hamsters and mice demonstrated complete protection. The company announced in June 2020 that it had partnered with Wageningen Bioveterinary Research and Utrecht University to develop an intranasal vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. According to Intravacc, its intranasal vaccine candidates “not only induce high mucosal and systemic immune responses, but they are also cheap to manufacture and stay stable at 4°C for many years.”
The pre-clinical study evaluated two two-dose OMV-rSp vaccines, one of which was based on Intravacc’s OMV-click technology. According to Intravacc, the OMV-click vaccine generated significantly higher levels of neutralizing antibodies in mice and slightly higher levels in hamsters than the other candidate. Hamsters that received either vaccine were free of lung lesions seven days post challenge and lost less weight than animals that were unvaccinated or that were vaccinated with OMVs or rSP alone.
Intravacc Director Program Management Dinja Oosterhoff commented, “Our focus is to develop an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine that can induce both a systemic and a mucosal immune response. Mucosal immunity is the first line of defense for respiratory infections and plays an important role in the prevention of transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The preclinical data provides evidence supporting the efficacy potential of our OMV platform for intranasal applications.”
CEO Jan Groen said, “We are very pleased with this pre-clinical data of our intranasal SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccine. This allows us to move quickly towards an in human combined Phase 1 and 2 clinical trial. Based on historical scientific and clinical data generated at Intravacc, I am convinced that we are well-positioned for the further development of this vaccine. This and previous data clearly demonstrate the value of our OMV-vaccine technology for future development of other preventive and therapeutic vaccines.”
Read the Intravacc press release.
