• New vaccine platform invented by Mayo enters COVID-19 clinical trial

A Mayo Clinic lab member, wearing purple laboratory gloves, is purifying an adenovirus vector for preclinical testing.
A Mayo Clinic lab member is purifying an adenovirus vector for preclinical testing.

A novel single-cycle adenovirus vaccine platform developed by Mayo Clinic will be used to target multiple infectious diseases and cancer indications, beginning with a phase 1 clinical study using the platform as a vaccine for COVID-19.

Developed to enhance the expression of target antigens, the single-cycle adenovirus platform is under investigation for its ability to amplify immune responses. In contrast to replication-defective vaccines, the single-cycle vector amplifies immune response potential based on preclinical trials.

“The single-cycle adenovirus vaccine engine amplifies SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen production nearly 100-fold when compared to matched replication-defective adenoviruses,” says Michael Barry, Ph.D., the director of Mayo Clinic's Vector and Vaccine Engineering Laboratory and co-developer of the platform. “Single-cycle is particularly potent as a nasal vaccine, fighting SARS at its site of entry.” 

The single-cycle adenovirus vaccine platform was licensed to Tetherex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, which announced the start of the Phase 1 trial.

Read more about this adenovirus platform and Dr. Barry’s work here.

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Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date

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