探花直播 of Cambridge - DIOSynVax

New vaccine technology could protect from future viruses and variants

sc604 — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:10:32 +0000

探花直播vaccine antigen technology, developed by the 探花直播 of Cambridge and spin-out DIOSynVax in early 2020, provided protection against all known variants of SARS-CoV-2 鈥� the virus that causes COVID-19 鈥� as well as other major coronaviruses, including those that caused the first SARS epidemic in 2002.

探花直播studies in mice, rabbits and guinea pigs 鈥� an important step before beginning human clinical trials, currently underway in Southampton and Cambridge 鈥� found that the vaccine candidate provided a strong immune response against a range of coronaviruses by targeting the parts of the virus that are required for replication. 探花直播vaccine candidate is based on a single digitally designed and immune-optimised聽antigen.

Even though the vaccine was designed before the emergence of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, it provided a strong protection against all of these and against more recent variants, suggesting that vaccines based on DIOSynVax antigens may also protect against future SARS-CoV-2 variants.

DIOSynVax (Digitally Immune Optimised Synthetic Vaccines) uses a combination of computational biology, protein structure, immune optimisation, and synthetic biology to maximise and widen the spectrum of protection that vaccines can provide against global threats including existing and future virus outbreaks. Its vaccine candidates can be deployed in a variety of vaccine delivery and manufacturing platforms. 探花直播results are reported in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

Since the SARS outbreak in 2002, coronavirus 鈥榮pillovers鈥� from animals to humans have been a threat to public health, and require vaccines that provide broad-based protection. 鈥淚n nature, there are lots of these viruses just waiting for an accident to happen,鈥� said Professor Jonathan Heeney from Cambridge鈥檚 Department of Veterinary Medicine, who led the research. 鈥淲e wanted to come up with a vaccine that wouldn鈥檛 only protect against SARS-CoV-2, but all its relatives.鈥�

All currently available vaccines, such as the seasonal flu vaccine and existing Covid-19 vaccines, are based on virus strains or variants that arose at some point in the past. 鈥淗owever, viruses are mutating and changing all the time,鈥� said Heeney. 鈥淐urrent vaccines are based on a specific isolate or variant that occurred in the past, it鈥檚 possible that a new variant will have arisen by the time we get to the point that the vaccine is manufactured, tested and can be used by people.鈥�

Heeney鈥檚 team has been developing a new approach to coronavirus vaccines, by targeting their 鈥楢chilles heel鈥�. Instead of targeting just the spike proteins on the virus that change to evade our immune system, the Cambridge vaccine targets the critical regions of the virus that it needs to complete its virus life cycle. 探花直播team identifies these regions through computer simulations and selecting conserved structurally engineered antigens. 鈥淭his approach allows us to have a vaccine with a broad effect that viruses will have trouble getting around,鈥� said Heeney.

Using this approach, the team identified a unique antigen structure that gave a broad-based immune responses against different Sarbeco coronaviruses, the large group of SARS and SARS-CoV-2 related viruses that occur in nature. 探花直播optimised antigen is compatible with all vaccine delivery systems: the team administered it as a DNA immunogen (in collaboration with the 探花直播 of Regensburg), a weakened version of a virus (Modified Vaccinia Ankara, supported by ProBiogen), and as an mRNA vaccine (in collaboration with Ethris). In all cases, the optimised antigen generated a strong immune response in mice, rabbits and guinea pigs against a range of coronaviruses. Based on a strong safety profile, the聽"first-in-human" clinical trials are ongoing at Southampton and Cambridge NIHR Clinical Research Facilities. 探花直播last booster immunisations will conclude by the end of September.

鈥淯nlike current vaccines that use wild-type viruses or parts of viruses that have caused trouble in the past, this technology combines lessons learned from nature鈥檚 mistakes and aims to protect us from the future,鈥� said Heeney. 鈥淭hese optimised synthetic antigens generate broad immune responses, targeted to the key sites of the virus that can鈥檛 change easily. It opens the door for vaccines against viruses that we don鈥檛 yet know about. This is an exceptionally different vaccine technology 鈥� it鈥檚 a real turning point.鈥�

探花直播research was initially funded by the DHSC UK Vaccine Network programme and later in part by the Innovate UK DIOS-CoVax programme. 探花直播DIOSynVax pipeline includes vaccine candidates for influenza viruses, haemorrhagic fever viruses, and coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2,聽the latter of which is currently in clinical trials.

DIOSynVax is a spin-out company from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, established in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the 探花直播鈥檚 commercialisation arm. Jonathan Heeney is the Professor of Comparative Pathology at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, and a Fellow at Darwin College.

Reference:
Sneha Vishwanath et al. 鈥�A computationally designed antigen eliciting broad humoral responses against SARS-CoV-2 and related sarbecoviruses.鈥� Nature Biomedical Engineering (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41551-023-01094-2

Studies of a 鈥榝uture-proof鈥� vaccine candidate have shown that just one antigen can be modified to provide a broadly protective immune response in animals. 探花直播studies suggest that a single vaccine with combinations of these antigens 鈥� a substance that causes the immune system to produce antibodies against it 鈥� could protect against an even greater range of current and future coronaviruses.

This is an exceptionally different vaccine technology 鈥� it鈥檚 a real turning point

Jonathan Heeney

Uma Shankar sharma via Getty Images

Virus mutation

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Cambridge 探花直播鈥檚 needle-free coronavirus vaccine begins clinical trials in home city

cjb250 — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 07:00:20 +0000

探花直播vaccine 鈥� known as DIOS-CoVax 鈥� has been developed by Professor Jonathan Heeney at the 探花直播 of Cambridge and spin-out company DIOSynVax. It is envisaged as a booster targeting SARS-CoV-2 and relatives that threaten future coronavirus pandemics.

This next generation vaccine is administered through a needle-free 鈥榠njection鈥� 鈥� a blast of air that delivers it into the skin. It has already been part of safety trials conducted at the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, but now recruitment is being expanded to Cambridge.

Professor Heeney said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to be bringing our vaccine 鈥榟ome鈥� and are looking to recruit healthy volunteers to help in this crucial stage of development towards what we hope will eventually become a universal coronavirus vaccine.

鈥淥ur vaccine is innovative, both in terms of how it aims to protect against thevirus responsible for our current pandemic and future coronaviruses, but also in how it is delivered. If you鈥檙e someone who hates needles, our vaccine could be the answer as it鈥檚 delivered by a jet of air, not a needle.鈥�

If the clinical trials are successful, the vaccine could be scaled up and manufactured as a powder to boost global vaccination efforts, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

探花直播clinical trials team at Cambridge 探花直播 Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is looking for healthy volunteers aged 18-50 to take part in the study. Volunteers will receive payment for their time, and participation on the trial will last around 12 months with volunteers attending 11 visits. To find out more, contact the Project Management Team at cuh.dioscovaxtrial@nhs.net.

Funding for the development of the vaccine has come from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.

DIOSynVax is a spin-out company from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, established in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the 探花直播鈥檚 commercialisation arm. Professor Heeney is a Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge.

Trials of a novel needle-free coronavirus vaccine begin in Cambridge

Lloyd Mann ( 探花直播 of Cambridge)

Vaccine being administered by needle-free injection into a volunteer's arm

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Roadmap sets out new global strategy for development of more effective coronavirus vaccines

jg533 — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 13:39:58 +0000

A global strategy is launched today to coordinate the complex research activities necessary for a new approach to coronavirus vaccine development. 探花直播aim is to develop more effective, longer lasting vaccines against continually emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and against new coronaviruses that may emerge in the future.

探花直播Coronavirus Vaccines Research and Development Roadmap (CVR) is led by the US Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the 探花直播 of Minnesota. It is the product of an international collaboration of 50 scientific experts from around the world, who forged a unified strategy to make these critically needed vaccines a reality.

鈥� 探花直播response of the scientific and medical communities to the development and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines has been incredible, but as new variants emerge and immunity begins to wane we need newer technologies. It鈥檚 vital that we continue to develop vaccine candidates to help keep us safe from the next virus threats,鈥� said Professor Jonathan Heeney, Head of the Lab of Viral Zoonotics at the 探花直播 of Cambridge and advisor on the international CVR Taskforce.

Heeney, who is also a Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge, is leading an ongoing clinical trial to evaluate an innovative coronavirus vaccine he developed at the 探花直播 of Cambridge and spin-out company DIOSynVax. Administered needle-free using a blast of air, the vaccine primes the immune system to give a broader protective response to coronaviruses and is a step towards developing a future-proofed coronavirus vaccine.

Last year DIOSynVax was awarded $42 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)聽and the UK Government to support this work.

鈥� 探花直播COVID-19 pandemic marks the third time in just twenty years that a coronavirus has emerged to cause a public health crisis,鈥� said Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, CIDRAP director, 探花直播 of Minnesota Regents Professor and McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health.

He added: 鈥� 探花直播COVID-19 pandemic taught us the hard lesson that we must be better prepared. Rather than waiting for a fourth coronavirus to emerge 鈥� or for the arrival of an especially dangerous SARS-CoV-2 variant 鈥� we must act now to develop better, longer lasting and more broadly protective vaccines. If we wait for the next event to happen before we act, we will be too late.鈥�

探花直播emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 was preceded by an epidemic in 2003 caused by a different coronavirus called SARS-CoV. Then, in 2012, the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, emerged. Coronaviruses can carry a high risk of death: for MERS-CoV, about one third of infections result in death, and approximately one in ten for SARS-CoV, although neither spreads easily from person to person.

In contrast, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, has a much lower fatality rate, but because it is so highly infectious between people, it had caused worldwide more than 650 million confirmed cases and 6.6 million deaths by the end of 2022. Even more concerning is the threat of a new coronavirus in the future that could be both highly transmissible and highly lethal. In addition, the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants may further jeopardise the significant protection provided by current vaccines against severe disease and death.

探花直播CVR confronts these extraordinary threats with a detailed, comprehensive and coordinated plan to accelerate the development of long-lasting, broadly protective coronavirus vaccines capable of preventing severe disease and death, and potentially protect against infection and transmission. 探花直播CVR further emphasises the goal that future broadly protective vaccines must be suitable for all regions worldwide, including remote areas and low- and middle-income countries.

探花直播report highlights different paths to success. One approach could involve a stepwise process, starting with vaccines to protect against variants of SARS-CoV-2. Another approach could focus on vaccines capable of protecting against multiple types of coronaviruses, including those likely to spill over from animals to humans in the future.

探花直播CVR summarises key barriers and gaps and outlines specific goals and milestones for advancing broadly protective coronavirus vaccines. 探花直播work is organised into five topic areas:

Virology. Developing broadly protective coronavirus vaccines requires learning more about the global distribution of coronaviruses circulating in animal reservoirs that have the potential to spill over to humans.
Immunology. Scientists need to learn more about human immunology, including research that will expand the breadth and durability of immune protection from vaccines and natural infection. Improved understanding of mucosal immunity may unlock new strategies to block infection.
Vaccinology. Identifying key preferred product characteristics will inform priorities and strategies for vaccine R&D and accelerate discovery. Leveraging new technologies and identifying the best methods to assess vaccine efficacy will further catalyse critical advancements.
Animal and human infection models for vaccine research. 探花直播limited availability of a range suitable animal models is a key barrier to developing broadly protective coronavirus vaccines. Additionally, work is needed to explore the potential role for the safe and effective use of controlled human infection models in coronavirus vaccine research.
Policy and financing. 探花直播successful development and global distribution of broadly protective coronavirus vaccines will require reinvigorating and sustaining a high level of political commitment and long-term investment in vaccine R&D and manufacturing.

鈥� 探花直播vaccines that we currently have for COVID-19 are the most important tool that we have in our battle against the pandemic,鈥� said Charlie Weller, PhD, Head of Prevention, Infectious Diseases, at the Wellcome Trust. 鈥淏ut we can do better 鈥� by developing vaccines that give us broader protection 鈥� protection against new variants, protection from coronaviruses that have not yet emerged but might cause the next pandemic. We can discover new ways to deliver vaccines, such as skin patches or intranasal vaccines 鈥� and maybe even vaccines that could block transmission. This roadmap creates the structured plan that will give us the tools we need to better protect ourselves, our families and our communities around the world.鈥�

探花直播report was developed with funding from 探花直播Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

A scientific webinar on the CVR is planned for Thursday, April 20, 2023, 10:00-11:00 EDT. Register for the webinar here.

Reference

Moore, K.A. "A Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap for Broadly Protective Coronavirus Vaccines: A Pandemic Preparedness Strategy." February 2023, Vaccine. DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.02.032

Plan will accelerate a new approach to coronavirus vaccines research and development, to protect against COVID-19 variants and future pandemic threats from new coronaviruses

It鈥檚 vital that we continue to develop vaccine candidates to help keep us safe from the next virus threats

Jonathan Heeney

Andriy Onufriyenko, Getty

COVID-19 variants

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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Cambridge vaccine expert in $42million partnership to develop 'future-proofed' coronavirus vaccines

cjb250 — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 10:00:33 +0000

探花直播investment from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) will support the development of an mRNA vaccine. DIOSynVax, led by Professor Jonathan Heeney, Head of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics, 探花直播 of Cambridge, will design and select the lead antigen through proof-of-concept preclinical studies, and undertake initial clinical development through Phase I/II studies.

DIOSynVax uses the combination of protein structure, computational biology and immune-optimisation to maximise the protection that vaccines can provide against global threats including existing and future virus outbreaks. Its vaccine candidates can be deployed in a variety of vaccine delivery and manufacturing platforms.

探花直播DIOSynVax pipeline includes vaccine candidates for haemorrhagic fever viruses, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2, the latter of which is currently in clinical trials.

If DIOSynVax鈥檚 novel antigen design is successfully deployed using the intended mRNA platform, it could potentially be used to enable rapid development of vaccines against so-called Disease X 鈥� unknown pathogens with pandemic potential that have yet to emerge.

Professor Jonathan Heeney, Cambridge, said: "We are excited to be working with CEPI on its ground-breaking mission to leverage revolutionary science and technology to outmanoeuvre and minimise future pandemic threats.

"Our approach is to be ahead of the next pandemic - to deliver custom designed, immune selected vaccine antigens 鈥� which is ideal to prevent diseases caused by complex viruses such as the large and diverse family of coronaviruses. If successful, it will result in a safe, affordable NextGen vaccine for widespread use.鈥�

CEPI, DIOSynVax and the 探花直播 of Cambridge are committed to enabling global equitable access to the vaccines developed through this partnership. Under the terms of the funding agreement, DIOSynVax has committed to achieving equitable access to the outputs of this project.

Dr Richard Hatchett, CEO of CEPI, said: 鈥� 探花直播UK Government and the country鈥檚 world-leading scientific institutions have been pivotal to the global response to COVID-19. From the development of the CEPI-supported Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine 鈥� which is used in more countries than any other 鈥� to the ground-breaking Recovery trial to evaluate life-saving treatments like dexamethasone, British science has played a leading role in protecting the world from COVID-19.

鈥淚 am excited to further strengthen CEPI鈥檚 strong ties to British science through this partnership with DIOSynVax, Cambridge, to develop a vaccine with the potential to protect against variants of SARS-CoV-2 and other Betacoronaviruses in the future. Coronaviruses have now proven their pandemic potential, so it鈥檚 imperative for global health security that we invest in R&D now to future-proof the world against the threat of coronaviruses.鈥�

探花直播announcement was made today at the Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit, which brings together a unique mix of leaders across governments, international agencies, science and academia, industry, philanthropy, and civil society to explore how to collectively prepare for future viral threats and mobilise critical resources and political support for CEPI鈥檚 work.

DIOSynVax is a spin-out company from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, set up in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the 探花直播鈥檚 commercialisation arm.

Professor Heeney is a Fellow at Darwin College, Cambridge.

Adapted from a press release from CEPI

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that DIOSynVax, a biotech spinout of the 探花直播 of Cambridge, will receive $42 million (about 拢32 million) to develop a vaccine candidate that could provide protection against both existing and future variants of SARS-CoV-2 鈥� the virus that causes COVID-19 鈥� as well as other major coronaviruses, including those that cause SARS and MERS.

Our approach is to be ahead of the next pandemic - to deliver custom designed, immune selected vaccine antigens 鈥� which is ideal to prevent diseases caused by complex viruses such as the large and diverse family of coronaviruses

Jonathan Heeney

Nick Saffell ( 探花直播 of Cambridge)

Professor Jonathan Heeney

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Cambridge COVID vaccine in clinical trials

cjb250 — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 08:15:52 +0000

Safety trials are underway for a vaccine developed by Cambridge researchers that could be used as a booster targeting COVID-19 virus variants and relatives that threaten future coronavirus pandemics.

Cambridge-developed SARS-CoV-2 vaccine receives 拢1.9million from UK government for clinical trial

cjb250 — Tue, 25 Aug 2020 23:01:09 +0000

Innovate UK, the UK government鈥檚 innovation agency, has provided the funding for a collaboration between Cambridge spin-out company DIOSynVax (which is contributing an additional 拢400,000 to the trial), the 探花直播 of Cambridge and the 探花直播 Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus, a class of virus named after their appearance: spherical objects, on the surface of which sit 鈥榮pike鈥� proteins. 探花直播virus uses these spikes to attach to and invade cells in our body. One vaccine strategy is to block this attachment; however, not all immune responses against this virus and against this spike protein are protective 鈥� antibodies to the wrong part of the spike protein have been implicated in triggering hyper-inflammatory immune responses causing life-threatening COVID-19 disease. Added to this, SARS-CoV-2 is mutating and changes in the virus spike protein during the COVID-19 pandemic have already been observed to be widespread.

To develop their new vaccine candidate 鈥� DIOS-CoVax2 鈥� the team use banks of genetic sequences of all known coronaviruses, including those from bats, the natural hosts of many relatives of human coronaviruses. 探花直播team have developed libraries of computer-generated antigen structures encoded by synthetic genes that can train the human immune聽system聽to target key regions of the virus and to produce beneficial聽anti-viral responses. These immune responses include neutralising antibodies, which block virus infection, and T-cells, which remove virus-infected cells. This 鈥榣aser-specific鈥� computer generated approach is able to help avoid the adverse hyper-inflammatory immune responses that can be triggered by recognition of the wrong parts on the coronavirus鈥檚 surface.

Professor Jonathan Heeney, head of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, and founder of DIOSynVax, said: 鈥淥ur approach involves 3D computer modelling of the SARS-CoV-2 virus鈥檚 structure. It uses information on the virus itself as well as its relatives 鈥� SARS, MERS and other coronaviruses carried by animals that threaten to 鈥榮pill-over鈥� to humans again to cause future human epidemics.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for cracks in its armour, crucial pieces of the virus that we can use to construct the vaccine to direct the immune response in the right direction. Ultimately we aim to make a vaccine that will not only protect from SARS-CoV-2, but also other related coronaviruses that may spill over from animals to humans.

鈥淥ur strategy includes targeting those domains of the virus鈥檚 structure that are absolutely critical for docking with a cell, while avoiding the parts that could make things worse. What we end up with is a mimic, a synthetic part of the virus minus those non-essential elements that could trigger a bad immune response.鈥�

While most vaccines use RNA or adenoviruses to deliver their antigens, DIOSynVax鈥檚 is based around DNA. These synthetic gene inserts are very versatile and can also be placed within a number of different vaccine delivery systems that other companies are using. Once an antigen is identified, the key piece of genetic code that the virus uses to produce the essential parts of its structure is inserted into a DNA parcel known as a vector. 探花直播body鈥檚 immune cells take up the vector, decode the DIOS-vaccine antigen and use the information to program the rest of the immune system to produce antibodies against it.

This DNA vector has already been shown to be safe and to be effective at stimulating an immune response against other pathogens in multiple phase I and early phase II trials.

探花直播proposed vaccine can be freeze-dried as a powder and is therefore heat stable, meaning that it does not need to be cold-stored. This makes transport and storage much more straightforward 鈥� which is particularly important in low- and middle-income countries where the infrastructure to make this possible can be costly. 探花直播vaccine can be delivered pain-free without a needle into the skin, using the PharmaJet Tropis聽庐聽intradermal Needle-free Injection System, which聽delivers the vaccine聽in less than a 1/10th聽of a second by spring-powered jet injection.聽

Dr Rebecca Kinsley, Chief Operating Officer of DIOSynVax and a postdoctoral researcher at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, added: 鈥淢ost research groups have used established approaches to vaccine development because of the urgent need to tackle the pandemic. We all hope the current clinical trials have a positive outcome, but even successful vaccines are likely to have their limitations 鈥� they may be unsuitable for vulnerable people, and we do not know how long their effects will last for, for example.

鈥淥ur approach 鈥� using synthetic DNA to deliver custom designed, immune selected vaccine antigens 鈥� is revolutionary and is ideal for complex viruses such as coronavirus. If successful, it will result in a vaccine that should be safe for widespread use and that can be manufactured and distributed at low cost.鈥�

探花直播UKRI funding will allow the team to take the vaccine candidate to clinical trial, which will take place at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Southampton Clinical Research Facility at the 探花直播 Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and could begin as early as late聽autumn this year.

Professor Saul Faust, Director of the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility, said: 鈥淚t is critical that different vaccine technologies are tested as part of the UK and global response to the pandemic as at this stage no one can be sure which type of vaccine will produce the best and most long-lived immune responses.

鈥淚t is especially exciting that the clinical trial will test giving the vaccine through people鈥檚 skin using a device without any needles as together with stable DNA vaccine technology this could be a major breakthrough in being able to give a future vaccine to huge numbers of people across the world.鈥�

Phil Packer, Innovation Lead for AMR and Vaccines at Innovate UK, said: 鈥淚nnovate UK is excited to fund the development of DIOS-CoVax and its assessment in Phase I Clinical Trials. 探花直播rapid identification of the DIOS-CoVax2 vaccine was made possible because DIOSynVax were able to rapidly utilise its vaccine platform technology previously developed for an聽Ebola/ Marburg/Lassa fever vaccine.

鈥淭hat was delivered by Innovate UK as part of DHSC鈥檚 Global Health Security Programme,聽which saw 拢110m invested in a new UK Vaccine Network charged with developing new vaccines and technologies to tackle diseases with epidemic potential.鈥�

DIOSynVax is a spin-out company from the 探花直播 of Cambridge, set up in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the 探花直播鈥檚 commercialisation arm.

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A Cambridge-developed vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2 could begin clinical trials in the UK in late autumn or early next year, thanks to a 拢1.9million award from the UK government.

Our approach 鈥� using synthetic DNA to deliver custom designed, immune selected vaccine antigens 鈥� is revolutionary and is ideal for complex viruses such as coronavirus. If successful, it will result in a vaccine that should be safe for widespread use and that can be manufactured and distributed at low cost

Rebecca Kinsley

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Cambridge research team working towards vaccine against COVID-19

cjb250 — Tue, 17 Mar 2020 11:42:35 +0000

It is hard now to conceive that two months ago, few people had heard of the new coronavirus. Now, the virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has spread to every corner of the globe. 探花直播World Health Organization has officially declared the outbreak a pandemic.

With the threat of hundreds of thousands 鈥� possibly millions 鈥� of people being infected and healthcare systems becoming overwhelmed, the race is on to develop a vaccine that will protect individuals and slow the spread of the disease. But Professor Jonathan Heeney, Head of the Laboratory of Viral Zoonotics at the 探花直播 of Cambridge, and one of the people working on a vaccine, says that coronaviruses present a particular challenge to vaccine developers.

Coronaviruses are named after their appearance: they are spherical objects, on the surface of which sit 鈥榮pike鈥� proteins. 探花直播virus uses these spikes to attach to and invade cells in our body. Once inside, the virus uses the cell鈥檚 own machinery to help itself replicate and spread throughout the body, causing disease and allowing it to transmit onwards.

Traditionally, scientists would develop vaccines that programme the body to produce antibodies that recognise and block these spikes. But this strategy can misfire with coronaviruses due to a phenomenon known as 鈥榓ntibody-induced enhancement鈥� or 鈥榲accine-induced enhancement鈥�, says Heeney.

鈥淚f you make antibodies against the spike, they can end up binding to it and helping the virus invade important immune cells known as monocyte-macrophages. Rather than destroying the virus, these cells can then end up being reprogrammed by the viruses, exacerbating the immune response and making the disease much, much worse than it would otherwise be.鈥�

This phenomenon is well known, says Heeney, but it could still slow down development of a vaccine. 鈥淩esearchers will want to be confident that their vaccine candidates are safe 鈥� that they don鈥檛 inadvertently make the disease worse 鈥� before they are tested in humans.鈥�

As well as his Professorship at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Heeney is CEO of DIOSynVax, a spin-out company set up in 2017 with the support of Cambridge Enterprise, the 探花直播鈥檚 commercialisation聽arm. Its strapline is 鈥榃e change the way vaccines are made鈥�. In the past few years, Heeney has won significant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Innovate UK to develop new vaccines for diseases ranging from influenza to Ebola and other haemorrhagic fevers. It is this technology that he is now applying to the coronavirus.

DIOSynVax鈥檚 approach involves using computer modelling of the virus鈥檚 structure, created using information on the COVID-19 virus itself as well as its relatives 鈥� SARS, MERS and other coronaviruses 鈥� and identifying cracks in its armour, crucial pieces of the spikes that will form part of the vaccine, to disable the virus but without making the infection worse.

鈥淎 vaccine strategy needs to be laser specific, targeting those domains of the virus鈥檚 structure that are absolutely critical for docking with a cell, while avoiding the parts that could make things worse,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur technology does just that.鈥�

Their approach is to look at the genetics of these viruses to identify the key piece of genetic code that the virus uses to produce the essential part of its coat, the spikes, that are important for docking with a cell and to target these elements with the vaccine.

鈥淲hat we end up with is a mimic, a mirror image of part of the virus, but minus its bad parts, the non-essential parts that could trigger those bad immune responses. What remains is just the magic bullet, essentially, to trigger the right type of immune response.鈥�

Then, using a combination of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, the team create a vaccine that includes this piece of genetic code, which can be injected into an individual. 探花直播body鈥檚 immune cells will then find it, decode it and us the information to program the rest of the immune system to produce antibodies against it.

探花直播next step is to then test the vaccine in pre-clinical trials 鈥� in other words, give the vaccine to mice to check that it is safe to use. Mice are an important part of vaccine research: their physiology and immune systems are similar enough to ours to enable researchers to minimise the risk to humans taking part in clinical trials.

DIOSynVax鈥檚 approach is much faster than current vaccine development technologies, says Heeney, which means that even allowing for essential pre-clinical mouse studies, his vaccine candidate could be ready for human clinical trials as early as June. He is currently seeking funding to pursue his work further and a pharmaceutical company with whom to partner on clinical trials.

鈥淲e need a 鈥榖ig pharma鈥� partner to help us scale up our activities,鈥� he says. 鈥淥ur vaccine designs are made so that they can be easily integrated into any proprietary vaccine platform that a pharmaceutical company may have ready.鈥�

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探花直播race is on to find a vaccine against the new COVID-19聽coronavirus. Professor Jonathan Heeney explains why a cautious approach is needed and how his team is using new technology developed for influenza and Ebola viruses to target the new infection.

A vaccine strategy needs to be laser specific, targeting those domains of the virus鈥檚 structure that are absolutely critical for docking with a cell, while avoiding the parts that could make things worse

Jonathan Heeney

COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine: everything you need to know

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探花直播 of Cambridge - DIOSynVax

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