Immunogenicity and efficacy of the COVID-19 candidate vector vaccine MVA-SARS-2-S in preclinical vaccination
Alina Tscherne, Jan Hendrik Schwarz, Cornelius Rohde, Alexandra Kupke, Georgia Kalodimou, Leonard Limpinsel, Nisreen M.A. Okba, Berislav Bošnjak, Inga Sandrock, Ivan Odak, Sandro Halwe, Lucie Sauerhering, Katrin Brosinski, Liangliang Nan, Elke R. Duell, Sylvia Jany, Astrid Freudenstein, Jörg Schmidt, Anke Werner, Michelle Gellhorn Serra, Michael Klüver, Wolfgang Guggemos, Michael Seilmaier, Clemens‐Martin Wendtner, Reinhold Förster, Bart L. Haagmans, Stephan Becker, Gerd Sutter, Asisa Volz
Abstract
Significance The highly attenuated vaccinia virus MVA is licensed as smallpox vaccine; as a vector it is a component of the approved adenovirus-MVA–based prime-boost vaccine against Ebola virus disease. Here, we provide results from testing the COVID-19 candidate vaccine MVA-SARS-2-S, a poxvirus-based vector vaccine that proceeded to clinical evaluation. When administered by intramuscular inoculation, MVA-SARS-2-S expresses and safely delivers the full-length SARS-CoV-2 S protein, inducing balanced SARS-CoV-2–specific cellular and humoral immunity, and protective efficacy in vaccinated mice. Substantial clinical experience has been gained with MVA vectors using homologous and heterologous prime-boost applications, including the immunization of children and immunocompromised individuals. Thus, MVA-SARS-2-S represents an important resource for developing further optimized COVID-19 vaccines.