Research roadmap for coronavirus vaccine development

Download 202402 Draft Coronavirus Vaccine research roadmap Final

Vaccine

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Dependencies

2 Naturally attenuated candidates
2A Safety
2B Delivery route
2C Delivery platform
2D Efficacy in challenge model
3 Rationally attenuated candidates
3A Safety
3B Delivery route
3C Delivery platform
3D Efficacy in challenge model
4 Inactivated vaccines
4A Safety
4B Delivery route
4C Delivery platform
4D Efficacy in challenge model
5 DNA/RNA vaccines
5A Safety
5B Delivery route
5C Delivery platform
5D Efficacy in challenge model
6 Subunit vaccines
6A Safety
6B Delivery route
6C Delivery platform
6D Efficacy in challenge model
7 Vectored vaccines
7A Safety
7B Platform route
7C Platform delivery
7D Efficacy in challenge model

Vaccine

Research Question

What are we trying to achieve?
Development of effective vaccines against the current most pathogenic
animal health coronaviruses as well as future emerging viruses
Problem:
Vaccine development is a multifactorial process – factors that need to
be considered when designing a vaccine are which virus/antigen to
target, which vaccine platform to use, animal model, safety, efficacy,
cost, stability, demand etc. And whether there is a market

Research Gaps and Challenges

Platform and antigen selection: Identifying the most effective vaccine
platform (e.g., mRNA, viral vector, protein subunit) and the right
combination of antigens (e.g., spike, nucleocapsid) that can protect
against a broad spectrum of coronavirus variants, including emerging
ones, is a key challenge
Broad protection against coronavirus variants: Developing a vaccine
that offers protection not only against known coronaviruses but also
against within-species variants is critical for long-term control of
disease spread
Testing vaccine platforms in challenge studies: Testing vaccines in
natural hosts is preferred, and an advantage over human vaccine
development but animal models may not always reflect the immune
responses in the field, making it difficult to evaluate vaccine efficacy
Balancing antibody and T-cell responses: Finding a platform that
induces both strong antibody responses and long-term T-cell immunity is challenging. Both components are necessary for robust, durable protection. Most vaccines are targeted against the spike protein – there is a need to broaden the immune response to encompass cell-mediated and mucosal immunity. There is a requirement for protection against infection as well as disease
Delivery routes: The ideal delivery route for vaccines (e.g.,
intramuscular, mucosal) remains uncertain. Mucosal delivery may
enhance immunity as a first line of defence, particularly in the
respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts, but requires further exploration
Safety in production systems: Ensuring that vaccines are safe for
widespread use in animal production systems, without adverse effects
on animal health or product quality, is a key consideration

Solution Routes

Extensive testing with comparable methods: Vaccines should be tested
using standardized methods and protocols (SOPs) across laboratories,
allowing for reliable comparison of results. This ensures that the best
vaccine platforms and delivery methods can be identified and optimized
Specific funding calls for multidisciplinary approaches: Targeted funding opportunities should be established to encourage multi-disciplinary research, combining immunology, virology, genetics, and veterinary science to accelerate vaccine development
Testing various vaccine platforms: A wide range of vaccine platforms
should be tested, including those that can be delivered via mucosal routes (e.g., viral vectors). This will help determine which platforms
provide the best immunity and ease of administration
Comparing delivery routes: Different delivery routes (e.g.,
intramuscular, mucosal, oral) should be compared, particularly exploring alternatives to intramuscular injections, to determine which route best stimulates immunity at key sites of viral entry
Collaborative research: Collaboration between academia, industry, and
government is crucial to speed up vaccine development. This could
involve data sharing, joint trials, and cross-disciplinary partnerships to
address both scientific and logistical challenges
Accelerating universal platform approval: Regulatory agencies should
focus on approving universal vaccine platforms, where new sequences
can be rapidly inserted to adapt to emerging variants, reducing time to
market for new vaccines. This should include the use of genetically
modified organism (GMO) vaccines
Safety testing across platforms: Comprehensive safety testing should be conducted across various vaccine platforms, comparing different
immunogens to ensure wide-scale safety in different animal species and production environments
Natural host studies: Wherever possible, vaccine testing should involve
natural host species to ensure that the immune responses observed are
reflective of those in the target species
Epidemiological studies: unify the global efforts put into monitoring
disease prevalence for difference coronaviruses

Dependencies

A wholistic understanding of the pathogen, the disease, the immune response are absolutely essential. But also, an understanding that each outbreak has a unique environment and the human factors that might affect vaccine uptake and/or success might be very different. All these dependencies are likely needed to underpin vaccine delivery

State Of the Art

High-level biosecurity measures and vaccines remain the most effective strategies to prevent coronavirus diseases in both animals and humans. For many widespread animal coronavirus diseases—including those affecting bovines, dromedary camels, pigs, cats, dogs, and birds—successful commercial vaccines are available. These vaccines have historically been developed using either killed/inactivated virus or live/attenuated virus strategies
While the majority of these vaccines are administered intramuscularly, some, such as those for infectious bronchitis (IB) in poultry, are delivered through drinking water, aerosol spray, or oculo-nasal routes. This highlights the potential role of local mucosal immunity in protecting against coronavirus diseases. Examples of available veterinary coronavirus vaccines include:

Avian infectious bronchitis: Live attenuated virus delivered via drinking water, aerosol spray, or oculo-nasally
Bovine coronavirus: Inactivated whole virus vaccine administered intramuscularly, often combined with other vaccines
Canine coronavirus (CCV): Inactivated feline enteric coronavirus (FECV), which is antigenically similar to enteric CCV, given via injection to young puppies with a booster dose
Feline infectious peritonitis: Attenuated, temperature-sensitive strain administered intranasally
Porcine transmissible gastroenteritis: Live, attenuated virus delivered intramuscularly, either alone or in a regimen combining an oral priming dose with an intramuscular booster