Co-investigator: Leo Liu (McGill University)
Collaborator(s): Anavaj Sakuntabhai (Institut Pasteur, Tokyo, Japan, and V4C), Etienne Simon-Lorière (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France, and V4C)
This proposal outlines a collaborative effort with the start-up Vaccine for Communities (V4C) to advance dengue vaccine development by leveraging cutting-edge self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) technology. Building on V4C’s intellectual property for the current mRNA vaccine, our laboratory will develop a novel saRNA vaccine and conduct rigorous preclinical testing in validated mouse models of severe dengue disease. The project aims to establish proof of concept for the saRNA platform, demonstrating immunogenicity, protection, and safety through comparative studies with V4C’s mRNA vaccine and the licensed QDENGA (TAK-003) vaccine. Additionally, this research will lay the groundwork for future intellectual property through improvements to the alphavirus-replicon system, enhancing antigen expression, immunogenicity, and tissue-specific delivery.