SBIR Phase II: Design and production of a next generation vaccine to prevent COVID

SBIR 第二阶段：设计和生产下一代预防新冠病毒的疫苗

• 批准号: 2313338
• 负责人: Peter Leonardi
• 金额: $ 99.77万
• 依托单位: OMNICYTE, LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-03-15 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2313338&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Design; production

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a next-generation COVID-19 vaccine that addresses the weaknesses of the current vaccines. While the current COVID-19 vaccines have saved countless lives and have allowed our society to get back to normal, they have their weaknesses. The boosters are sometimes not effective, and when they are, they have short-lived efficacy and they can have mild to severe side effects. These weaknesses not only put individuals at risk of getting sick with COVID or the side effects, but those weaknesses also compromise confidence in the vaccine, which affects compliance. The proposed project promises to produce a next-generation vaccine that has better efficacy and significantly reduced side effects, as well as increased duration of effectiveness. This could pave the way for an effective annual administration schedule of the vaccine booster that addresses new strains, much like the seasonal influenza vaccine. The proposed project intends to produce a next-generation vaccine that can renew confidence in vaccinating to prevent COVID-19. The project's objectives are to show that the vaccine candidate can not only create an immune response that can stop the spread of the virus but also kill the virus. Additionally, it is hoped that the project will show that the vaccine is safer than the current vaccines and that it promotes an immune response that lasts significantly longer than current vaccines. This will be accomplished by testing the vaccine in a Hamster model that simulates the human respiratory system well. Not only will efficacy be tested, but the longevity of the immune response will also be tested. As an additional objective of the study, the route of administration will be examined. The vaccine's effectiveness will be compared by administering it either through injection, nasal administration, or a microneedle patch.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该小企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是开发下一代 COVID-19 疫苗，以解决当前疫苗的弱点。虽然当前的 COVID-19 疫苗拯救了无数生命，并使我们的社会恢复正常，但它们也有其弱点。 加强剂有时无效，即使有效，其功效也是短暂的，并且可能产生轻微到严重的副作用。这些弱点不仅使个人面临感染新冠病毒或副作用的风险，而且还损害了人们对疫苗的信心，从而影响了依从性。拟议的项目有望生产出具有更好功效、显着减少副作用以及延长有效性持续时间的下一代疫苗。这可能为针对新毒株的有效年度疫苗加强注射计划铺平道路，就像季节性流感疫苗一样。拟议的项目旨在生产下一代疫苗，可以重振人们对接种疫苗预防 COVID-19 的信心。该项目的目标是证明候选疫苗不仅可以产生阻止病毒传播的免疫反应，还可以杀死病毒。此外，希望该项目能够表明该疫苗比现有疫苗更安全，并且它促进的免疫反应持续时间明显长于现有疫苗。这将通过在很好地模拟人类呼吸系统的仓鼠模型中测试疫苗来实现。不仅会测试功效，还会测试免疫反应的持续时间。作为研究的另一个目标，将检查给药途径。疫苗的有效性将通过注射、鼻腔给药或微针贴片进行比较。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。