Ebolavirus (EBOV) infection in humans is a severe and often fatal disease, which demands effective interventional strategies for its prevention and treatment. The available vaccines, which are authorized under exceptional circumstances, use viral vector platforms and have serious disadvantages, such as difficulties in adapting to new virus variants, reliance on cold chain supply networks, and administration by hypodermic injection. Microneedle (MN) patches, which are made of an array of micron-scale, solid needles that painlessly penetrate into the upper layers of the skin and dissolve to deliver vaccines intradermally, simplify vaccination and can thereby increase vaccine access, especially in resource-constrained or emergency settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarburg virus (MARV) is a virus of high human consequence with a case fatality rate of 24-88%. The global health and national security risks posed by Marburg virus disease (MVD) underscore the compelling need for a prophylactic vaccine, but no candidate has yet reached regulatory approval. Here, we evaluate a replication-defective chimpanzee adenovirus type 3 (ChAd3)-vectored MARV Angola glycoprotein (GP)-expressing vaccine against lethal MARV challenge in macaques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe primary objective of this study was to characterize the disease course in cynomolgus macaques exposed to Sudan virus (SUDV), to determine if infection in this species is an appropriate model for the evaluation of filovirus countermeasures under the FDA Animal Rule. Sudan virus causes Sudan virus disease (SVD), with an average case fatality rate of approximately 50%, and while research is ongoing, presently there are no approved SUDV vaccines or therapies. Well characterized animal models are crucial for further developing and evaluating countermeasures for SUDV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-human primate (NHP) efficacy data for several Ebola virus (EBOV) vaccine candidates exist, but definitive correlates of protection (CoP) have not been demonstrated, although antibodies to the filovirus glycoprotein (GP) antigen and other immunological endpoints have been proposed as potential CoPs. Accordingly, studies that could elucidate biomarker(s) that statistically correlate, whether mechanistically or not, with protection are warranted. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate potential CoP for Novavax EBOV GP vaccine candidate administered at different doses to cynomolgus macaques using the combined data from two separate, related studies containing a total of 44 cynomolgus macaques.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMarburg virus (MARV) is a filovirus that can infect humans and nonhuman primates (NHPs), causing severe disease and death. Of the filoviruses, Ebola virus (EBOV) has been the primary target for vaccine and therapeutic development. However, MARV has an average case fatality rate of approximately 50%, the infectious dose is low, and there are currently no approved vaccines or therapies targeted at infection with MARV.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently approved vaccines have shown remarkable efficacy in limiting SARS-CoV-2-associated disease. However, with the variety of vaccines, immunization strategies, and waning antibody titers, defining the correlates of immunity across a spectrum of antibody titers is urgently required. Thus, we profiled the humoral immune response in a cohort of non-human primates immunized with a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (NVX-CoV2373) at two doses, administered as a single- or two-dose regimen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFiloviruses (Family Filoviridae genera Ebolavirus and Marburgvirus) are negative-stranded RNA viruses that cause severe health effects in humans and non-human primates, including death. Except in outbreak settings, vaccines and other medical countermeasures against Ebola virus (EBOV) will require testing under the FDA Animal Rule. Multiple vaccine candidates have been evaluated using cynomolgus monkeys (CM) exposed to EBOV Kikwit strain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEbola virus (EBOV) is a negative-sense RNA virus that can infect humans and nonhuman primates with severe health consequences. Development of countermeasures requires a thorough understanding of the interaction between host and pathogen, and the course of disease. The goal of this study was to further characterize EBOV disease in a uniformly lethal rhesus macaque model, in order to support development of a well-characterized model following rigorous quality standards.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently approved vaccines have already shown remarkable protection in limiting SARS-CoV-2 associated disease. However, immunologic mechanism(s) of protection, as well as how boosting alters immunity to wildtype and newly emerging strains, remain incompletely understood. Here we deeply profiled the humoral immune response in a cohort of non-human primates immunized with a stable recombinant full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein (NVX-CoV2373) at two dose levels, administered as a single or two-dose regimen with a saponin-based adjuvant Matrix-M™.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Recently approved vaccines have already shown remarkable protection in limiting SARS-CoV-2 associated disease. However, immunologic mechanism(s) of protection, as well as how boosting alters immunity to wildtype and newly emerging strains, remain incompletely understood. Here we deeply profiled the humoral immune response in a cohort of non-human primates immunized with a stable recombinant full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein (NVX-CoV2373) at two dose levels, administered as a single or two-dose regimen with a saponin-based adjuvant Matrix-M™.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-human primate models will expedite therapeutics and vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to clinical trials. Here, we compare acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in young and old rhesus macaques, baboons and old marmosets. Macaques had clinical signs of viral infection, mild to moderate pneumonitis and extra-pulmonary pathologies, and both age groups recovered in two weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn urgent global quest for effective therapies to prevent and treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is ongoing. We previously described REGN-COV2, a cocktail of two potent neutralizing antibodies (REGN10987 and REGN10933) that targets nonoverlapping epitopes on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. In this report, we evaluate the in vivo efficacy of this antibody cocktail in both rhesus macaques, which may model mild disease, and golden hamsters, which may model more severe disease.
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