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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.03.22.436375

An mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: Lyophilized, liposome-based vaccine candidate EG-COVID induces high levels of virus neutralizing antibodies

Kim, S.-H.·Cho, Y. J.·Hong, H. C.·Kim, K. S.·Park, S. A.·Chun, M. J.·Hong, E. Y.·Chung, S. W.·Kim, H. J.·Shin, B. G.
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Abstract

In addition to the traditional method of vaccine development, the mRNA coronavirus vaccine, which is attractive as a challenging vaccination, recently opened a new era in vaccinology. Here we describe the EG-COVID which is a novel liposome-based mRNA candidate vaccine that encodes the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 with 2P-3Q substitution in European variant. We developed the mRNA vaccine platform that can be lyophilized using liposome-based technology. Intramuscular injection of the EG-COVID elicited robust humoral and cellular immune response to SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, sera obtained from mice successfully inhibited SARS-CoV-2 viral infection into Vero cells. We developed EG-COVID and found it to be effective based on in vitro data, and we plan to initiate a clinical trial soon. Since EG-COVID is a lyophilized mRNA vaccine that is convenient for transportation and storage, accessibility to vaccines will be significantly improved.

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Kim, S.-H., Cho, Y. J., Hong, H. C., Kim, K. S., Park, S. A., Chun, M. J., Hong, E. Y., Chung, S. W., Kim, H. J., Shin, B. G.. 2021-03-22. An mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: Lyophilized, liposome-based vaccine candidate EG-COVID induces high levels of virus neutralizing antibodies. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.22.436375

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