Intranasal COVID vaccine that works against variants in animals

News Releases
A man wearing a mask holds a bottle of nasal spray to his nose.
An intranasal COVID vaccine could help block the virus where it enters the body.
Credit: Anna Tryhub/Shutterstock.com

An intranasal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 could quickly get to the respiratory tract, where the virus most commonly causes symptoms. And a spray or droplets could be a more palatable option for people who fear needles. But so far, only a few countries have approved COVID nasal vaccines. Now researchers report in ACS Nano that they’ve developed one that can fight off the original virus and two variants in hamsters.

The current batch of injected COVID vaccines have been effective at combating SARS-CoV-2 infection around the globe. But these shots enter the body in the muscle tissue, whereas the virus enters and causes many of the typical COVID symptoms in the respiratory tract. Thus, intranasal immunizations with a spray or droplets could be a better option. Although India and a couple of other countries have approved intranasal COVID vaccines in recent months, the road to formulating successful intranasal vaccines is not an easy one. For example, AstraZeneca announced this month that its intranasal candidate failed to produce a strong immune response in nasal tissues and offered less systemic protection than the intramuscular version. So, Madhavan Nallani, Pierre Vandepapeliere and colleagues wanted to formulate an intranasal COVID vaccine that would stimulate an immune response both systemically and in the respiratory tract, and that would also work against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The researchers based their vaccine on the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 beta variant, separately encapsulating the antigen and an immune-stimulating adjuvant into nanoparticles known as artificial cell membrane polymersomes. They packaged the two components separately so that they could more easily change the spike component to one from another variant if needed. Intramuscular co-administration of the parts produced a strong immune response in both mice and hamsters. When the hamsters injected with the new vaccine were exposed to live virus, however, they still developed an infection. In contrast, intranasal coadministration in hamsters produced a strong systemic immune response. It also cleared viruses from the respiratory tract and prevented infection-associated lung damage. Regardless of how the vaccine was administered, it provided protection against multiple variants, including omicron. Based on these results, the researchers are now recruiting participants for a Phase 1 clinical trial.

The authors acknowledge funding by the National Health Innovation Centre Gap Funding Award Singapore.

###

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

Note: ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies.

Media Contact

ACS Newsroom
newsroom@acs.org

Related Content