Unique U.S. Army Developed COVID-19 Vaccine Begins Phase 1 Clinical Trial

The military’s vaccine has the potential to provide broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 and can be modified to protect against other coronaviruses.

A unique vaccine to protect against COVID-19 began clinical trials on April 6, 2021 at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR), part of the US Army Medical Research and Development Command. Scientists have developed a nanoparticle vaccine based on a ferritin platform that offers a flexible approach to target multiple variants of SARS-COV-2 and possibly other coronaviruses as well.

The vaccine, called spike ferritin nanoparticle (SpFN), stands out in the COVID-19 vaccine landscape. The multi-faced spherical design allows for a repeated, ordered presentation of the coronavirus spike protein to the immune system, a strategy that can help provide broader protection.

“Even before recent COVID-19 variants were identified, our team was concerned about the emergence of new coronaviruses in human populations, a threat that has gained momentum in recent years,” said Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch (EIDB) at WRAIR, which leads the Army’s COVID-19 vaccine research and vaccine along with structural biologist Dr. Gordon Joyce of WRAIR, an associate of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, invented. “That’s why we need such a vaccine: a vaccine that has the potential to provide broad and proactive protection against multiple types and strains of the coronavirus.

Preclinical studies indicate that SpFN induces very potent and broad neutralizing antibody responses against the virus causing the COVID-19 infection, as well as three major SARS-CoV-2 variants and the SARS-CoV-1 virus.

The Phase 1 study is being conducted at WRAIR’s Clinical Trials Center and will enroll 72 healthy adult volunteers aged 18-55. Participants are randomly placed in placebo or experimental groups.

“This first human clinical trial of a new vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 demonstrates the power of WRAIR’s ability to deliver exciting basic scientific discoveries to the clinic very quickly with the promise of developing a public health tool for long-term pandemic control. Said Dr. Nelson Michael, Director of WRAIR’s Center for Infectious Diseases Research. WRAIR also provides expertise and support for the US federal government’s response between the various agencies, aimed at accelerating the development of other COVID-19 vaccines, therapies and diagnostics.

“We are doing this for the long term,” said Modjarrad. “We designed and positioned this platform as the next generation vaccine, a vaccine that paves the way for a universal vaccine that protects not only against the current virus, but also against future variants, stopping them before creating a new one. pandemic. “

About the study

The SpFN clinical trial is sponsored by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). The vaccine was developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Emerging Infectious Diseases Program with support from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc (HJF). Funding was provided by the Defense Health Agency and was delivered in part through a collaboration agreement between WRAIR and HJF (CA # W81XWH-18-2-0040).

The trial is registered on clinicaltrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04784767