Next-Generation Bacterial mRNA Vaccines

What?

A next-generation bacterial vaccine development pipeline to generate novel mRNA vaccines against 3 facultative intracellular model pathogens

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)

Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU)

Acinetobacter baumannii (AB)

Why?

Vaccines are a promising strategy to curb the rise of antimicrobial resistance, but current bacterial vaccine development is hampered by a lack of known antigens & limited ability to elicit cellular immune responses

MTB, which causes tuberculosis, is the world’s leading infectious killer. The only available vaccine against MTB offers inadequate protection

MU causes Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical disease for which there are no preventitive measures
Antibiotic-resistant AB is a WHO critical priority pathogen that frequently causes severe hospital-acquired infections. There are no vaccines against AB

How?

Discovery of bacterial antigens to encode in mRNA vaccines using cutting-edge immunopeptidomics

Development of novel mRNA vaccine formulations to elicit strong cellular and humoral immune responses

Integration of innovative vaccine production methods to enable local production, minimize cost & maximize stability

Evaluation of top vaccine candidates in preclinical models

Assessment of the top MTB vaccine candidate in a Phase I clinical trial

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