A vaccine that provides lifetime protection against evolving viruses is a step closer after a breakthrough in new “one and done” research.
A team at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) said it had uncovered promising results in the development of a universal influenza vaccine.
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, tested an OHSU-developed vaccine platform against the virus considered most likely to trigger the next pandemic.
Rather than developing the trail vaccine using the contemporary H5N1 virus, a group of primate animals were inoculated against the influenza virus of 1918 that killed millions of people worldwide.
“It’s exciting because in most cases, this kind of basic science research advances the science very gradually; in 20 years, it might become something,” Senior author Jonah Sacha from OHSU’s Oregon National Primate Research Center said.
“This could actually become a vaccine in five years or less.”
Researchers reported that six of 11 nonhuman primates inoculated against the 1918 virus survived exposure to one of the deadliest viruses in the world – H5N1.
In contrast, a control group of six unvaccinated primates exposed to the H5N1 virus succumbed to the disease.
Sacha said he believes the platform “absolutely” could be useful against other mutating viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.
“It’s a very viable approach,” he said. “For viruses of pandemic potential, it’s critical to have something like this. We set out to test influenza, but we don’t know what’s going to come next.”
“The problem with influenza is that it’s not just one virus. Like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it’s always evolving the next variant and we’re always left to chase where the virus was, not where it’s going to be.”
The research report said this new approach harnessed a vaccine platform previously developed by scientists at OHSU to fight HIV and tuberculosis, and had already been used in a clinical trial against HIV.
This approach differs from common vaccines — including the existing flu vaccines — which are designed to induce an antibody response that targets the most recent evolution of the virus, distinguished by the arrangement of proteins covering the exterior surface.
“I think it means within five to 10 years, a one-and-done shot for influenza is realistic,” Sacha said.
“It’s a massive sea change within our lifetimes,” Sacha said. “There is no question we are on the cusp of the next generation of how we address infectious disease.”
The full report is on the OHSU website.
