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