The vaccine platform developed by Abera Bioscience has been used in a collaboration between researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, USA) and Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) to produce and test a novel, nasal SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate.

Previously published data have now been supplemented with further analyses showing that the vaccine candidate protects against disease and elicits neutralizing antibodies against both the wild strain and the delta variant of the virus.

An intranasally administered vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Abera’s vaccine platform, which makes it possible to decorate bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles (OMVs) with multiple antigens, has been used by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam to develop an intranasally administered vaccine candidate against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.

In the study, OMVs were decorated with the antigenic SARS-CoV-2 Spike receptor-binding domain and tested in a golden hamster infection model. A preprint that was previously published on the BioRxiv server has now been supplemented with data showing that the vaccine candidate elicits neutralizing antibodies against both wild-type SARS-CoV-2 as well as the delta variant. Moreover, local protection against viral challenge in the nasal mucosa could be demonstrated. Previous data showed high antibody titers and lowered virus titers in the lungs resulting in protection against lung pathology and other disease symptoms upon infection with live SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Advantages with Abera’s vaccine platform

“The authors of the article highlight many of the advantages of Abera’s vaccine platform. This includes the versatile plug’n’play approach used that allows for decoration of OMVs with a wide variety of antigens and quickly design new vaccines. For example, large batches of OMVs could be prepared and decorated with appropriate antigens in the event a new viral variant or a new virus emerges. Also emphasized are the scalability, stability of the platform, as well as the fact that additional adjuvants are not needed as OMVs contain intrinsic adjuvant activity. It is exciting that more and more people show interest in this technology and understand its potential,” says Maria Alriksson, CEO of Abera Bioscience.

“There are few vaccines against Covid-19 under development that are adapted for intranasal administration; but the interest in these has increased in recent months as it has been seen that even fully vaccinated people can carry and transmit infection.”

“There are few vaccines against Covid-19 under development that are adapted for intranasal administration; but the interest in these has increased in recent months as it has been seen that even fully vaccinated people can carry and transmit infection. There would be great benefits with a vaccine that can reduce the viral load in the nose in order to reduce the spread of infection. In the event that a financially stronger partner is interested in taking the project further, we are open to licensing our platform. Should new variants or diseases appear, we have shown that once antigen have been identified, Abera can in a short time create new, adapted vaccine candidates,” continues Alriksson.

Photo coronavirus: NIAID