Inactivated whole hepatitis C virus vaccine employing a licensed adjuvant elicits cross-genotype neutralizing antibodies in mice.

Background & Aims: A prophylactic vaccine is required to eliminate HCV as a global public health threat. We developed whole virus inactivated HCV vaccine candidates employing a licensed adjuvant. Further, we investigated the effects of HCV envelope protein modifications (to increase neutralization epitope exposure) on immunogenicity.