A ferritin-based COVID-19 nanoparticle vaccine that elicits robust, durable, broad-spectrum neutralizing antisera in non-human primates

• Published in: bioRxiv 2022-12
• Main Authors: Weidenbacher, Payton A-B, Sanyal, Mrinmoy, Friedland, Natalia, Tang, Shaogeng, Arunachalam, Prabhu S, Hu, Mengyun, Kumru, Ozan S, Morris, Mary Kate, Fontenot, Jane, Shirreff, Lisa, Do, Jonathan, Cheng, Ya-Chen, Vasudevan, Gayathri, Feinberg, Mark B, Villinger, Francois J, Hanson, Carl, Joshi, Sangeeta B, Volkin, David B, Pulendran, Bali, Kim, Peter S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum hydroxide; Antisera; Cell culture; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 vaccines; Ferritin; Immune response; Immunization; Immunogenicity; Nanoparticles; Patent applications; Pediatrics; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
• ISSN: 2692-8205; 2692-8205
• DOI: 10.1101/2022.12.25.521784

While the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines has been a scientific triumph, the need remains for a globally available vaccine that provides longer-lasting immunity against present and future SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs). Here, we describe DCFHP, a ferritin-based, protein-nanoparticle vaccine candidate that, when formulated with aluminum hydroxide as the sole adjuvant (DCFHP-alum), elicits potent and durable neutralizing antisera in non-human primates against known VOCs, including Omicron BQ.1, as well as against SARS-CoV-1. Following a booster ∼one year after the initial immunization, DCFHP-alum elicits a robust anamnestic response. To enable global accessibility, we generated a cell line that can enable production of thousands of vaccine doses per liter of cell culture and show that DCFHP-alum maintains potency for at least 14 days at temperatures exceeding standard room temperature. DCFHP-alum has potential as a once-yearly booster vaccine, and as a primary vaccine for pediatric use including in infants.