Virosomes as a carrier delivery system for mRNA or adeno virus vector based vaccine candidates

事实证明，基于mRNA的疫苗在遏制全球COVID-19大流行方面取得了成功，特别是在高收入国家。目前的疫苗是在脂质纳米颗粒中配制的，但需要严格的冷链（-15℃至60℃），与通常储存在4-8℃的其他亚单位疫苗方法相比，这在商业上/物流上可能不可行。病毒体是一种可替代的载体系统，用于甲型肝炎（Epaxal）和流感（Inflexal）疫苗，具有良好的安全性和有效性数据。本项目的目的是评估通过不同的方法将不同大小的候选mRNA序列整合到病毒体中的可行性，包括包封、表面连锁和连接体。将对病毒体的可制造性、储存稳定性和感染性进行评估，以便进行优化设计。这项工作将对快速应对新出现的疾病威胁的能力产生重大影响。从这个项目中获得的知识也将开发有价值的工具，这些工具也可能应用于其他基于病毒体的治疗，如基因治疗。这项研究很好地契合了EPSRC制造未来的主题，以及转型医疗保健的主题。

mRNA based vaccines have proven successful in curbing the global COVID-19 pandemic particularly in higher income countries. Current vaccines are formulated in lipid nanoparticles but require a restrictive cold-chain (-15C to-60C) which may be not feasible commercially/ logistically when compared to other subunit vaccines approaches typically stored at 4-8 C. Virosomes are an alternative carrier system commercialised with good safety and efficacy data for Hepatitis A (Epaxal) and Influenza (Inflexal) vaccines.The aim of this project will be to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating candidate mRNA sequences of various sizes into virosomes through different methods including encapsulation, surface linkage and with linkers. The manufacturability, storage stability and infectivity of the virosomes will be evaluated to enable the engineering of an optimal design. This work will have a major impact on the ability to rapidly respond to emerging disease threats. Knowledge gained from this project will also develop valuable tools that may also be applied to other virosome-based therapies, such as gene therapies. This research aligns well the EPSRC Manufacturing the Future Theme, and also the Transforming Healthcare theme.