According to the CDC, roughly 1.1 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the past year, and 81.4% of the U.S. population have received the updated booster dose. This therapeutic agent utilizes the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vector to protect against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. This innovative approach resulted in heightened immunogenicity of the vaccines compared to currently available options. Specifically, the utilization of the prefusion Spike protein, stabilized with six prolines (preS-6P), component in the vaccine formulation demonstrates superior efficacy in eliciting a robust immune response. Two distinguishing features of this vaccine platform are the proposed intranasal administration and the live attenuated virus design, both of which induce robust mucosal immunity.

In addition to the vaccine platform, the inventors used the platform to develop specific IgY antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 that might be used as a prophylactic, therapeutic or diagnostic antibody.

This technology holds significant promise in the development of effective vaccines to combat SARS-CoV-2 and its variants long-term. RINCH has filed a provisional application (63/452,870) and the inventors continue to evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine candidates in animal models. This technology is jointly owned with The Ohio State University.