Nature: A single dose of Ad26.COV2.S vaccine has made rhesus monkeys strongly resistant to the new coronavirus.

31(2020 /PRNewswire/ -- --- new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is now raging around the world.
to end the COVID-19 epidemic, it is likely that a safe and effective vaccine will need to be developed. in a new study
, a team of researchers led by Dr. Dan H. Barouch, an immunologist at the Beth Israel Deacon Medical Center (BIDMC), reported that a leading COVID-19 vaccine developed by BIDMC in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson causes neutralizing antibodies and strongly protects non-human primates from SARS-CoV-2.
the study builds on previous results from the team.
related findings were published online July 30, 2020 in the journal Nature with the title "Single-shot Ad26 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques".
images from Cell, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.04.011. "This vaccine, which led to the strong resistance of rhesus monkeys to SARS-CoV-2, is now being evaluated in humans," said
, director of the BIDMC Center for Virology and Vaccine Research.
" the vaccine uses a common cold virus called adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) to send SARS-CoV-2 stinging proteins into host cells, where it stimulates the body's immune response to the new coronavirus.
Barouch has been working on the COVID-19 vaccine since Chinese scientists released the SARS-CoV-2 genome in January.
Barouch team, in collaboration with Johnson and Johnson, has developed a range of candidate vaccines designed to express different variants of SARS-CoV-2 alysing protein, which is the main target for neutralizing antibodies.
Barouch and his colleagues studied 52 rhesus monkeys: using one of seven different versions of the Ad26-based vaccine (hereinafter referred to as the Ad26 vaccine) to give 32 adult rhesus monkeys a single dose and 20 other rhesus monkeys to be given a fake vaccine (sham vaccine) as a placebo-controlled dose.
all rhesus monkeys vaccinated against Ad26 produce neutralizing antibodies.
after 6 weeks of vaccination, all rhesus monkeys were exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
all 20 rhesus monkeys who received fake vaccines were infected and showed high levels of the virus in their lungs and nasal swabs.
of the six rhesus monkeys that were given the best candidate for the Ad26 vaccine, Ad26.COV2.S, none had a virus in their lungs, and only one had a low level of the virus in the nasal swab of a rhesus monkey.
in addition, neutralizing antibody responses is associated with protection, suggesting that the biomarker will play a role in the clinicaldevelopment of the COVID-19 vaccine for use in humans. "Our data show that a single inoculation with Ad26.COV2.S can strongly protect rhesus monkeys from SARS-CoV-2," said
Barouch.
single-pin vaccination has practical and logistical advantages over dual-pin vaccination programmes in terms of global deployment and pandemic control, double-pin vaccination sissles may have higher immunogenicity, so both options are being evaluated in clinical trials.
we look forward to the results of clinical trials to determine the safety and immunogenicity of the Ad26.COV.S vaccine in humans, as well as its ultimate effectiveness. researchers at
" BIDMC and other institutions have launched the first phase 1/2 clinical trial of the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine among healthy volunteers. Dr.
Dr. Kathryn E. Stephenson is the lead researcher in the trial, which was funded by Janssen Vaccines and Prevention, Inc. (Janssen Vaccines and Prevention, B.V.).
Janssen Vaccines and Prevention is a drug research subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson.
the Ad26.COV2.S vaccine is expected to begin Phase 3 efficacy trials in 30,000 participants in September.
(Bioon.com) References: 1. Noe B. Mercado et al. Single-shot Ad26 vaccine s against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques, Nature, 2020, doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2607-z. Single-shot COVID-19 vaccine s non-human primates.