Pre-clinical Development of an Adenovirus Vectored Universal Influenza Vaccine

A vaccine that could provide lasting immunity to all influenza A viruses could change the way we vaccinate against flu by enabling vaccination of the whole population and would provide protection against new subtypes that could potentially cause a new pandemic. In this project we will create an adenoviruse-vectored universal flu vaccine, and prepare for clinical trials of this new vaccine.

A vaccine against influenza that induced protective T cell responses against conserved internal antigens could provide lasting immunity against not only human seasonal ?flu (H1N1 or H3N2 subtypes), but also other subtypes currently found in avian species or swine which threaten to cause a new ?flu pandemic. Adenoviruses are the ideal vector for such a vaccine as they induce broad, potent T cell responses after a single vaccination, so could be used in children to confer broad immunity rapidly. They can also boost pre-existing T cell responses acquired by prior exposure to ?flu that have since declined to non-protective levels. We propose to construct a replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine expressing conserved influenza antigens, complete pre-clinical evaluation, GMP manufacture and regulatory and ethical submissions to prepare for a phase I trial of this vaccine.