The first vaccine for multiple coronaviruses is entering human trials, developed at UW Medicine
A vaccine against a number of coronaviruses including COVID-19 and other deadly respiratory diseases is starting human trials in Australia. The vaccine was developed using technology from the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design.
South Korean pharmaceutical company SK bioscience is leading research into a new coronavirus vaccine, called GBP511. SK bioscience previously collaborated with UW researchers on a COVID-19 vaccine that received regulatory approval.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has awarded the GBP511 program with approximately $65 million.
Unlike most vaccines that target a single virus or strain, GBP511 aims to protect against multiple coronaviruses at once.
“GBP511 is the first vaccine to reach human trials aimed at protecting against multiple strains of the virus that causes COVID-19 and related coronaviruses that can spark dangerous outbreaks,” Neil King, professor of biochemistry at UW Medicine, said in a statement.
King, who is the deputy director of the Institute for Protein Design, developed the self-assembling nanoparticle technology used to produce the vaccine. The center is on the cutting edge of AI-assisted protein innovation and is perhaps best known as the home of David Baker, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
The new vaccine recognizes sarbecoviruses, a subgroup of coronaviruses that includes the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as those responsible for major outbreaks: the original SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused widespread illness in the early 2000s and MERS-CoV, which caused outbreaks mainly in the Middle East. This family also includes viruses found in animals such as camels and bats, some of which have already infected humans and others may.
The vaccine contains fragments of four different coronaviruses attached to a computer-designed nanoparticle, which triggers an immune response to the various invaders.
“The beauty of this approach is that by presenting the immune system with multiple related antigens at once, we can train them to recognize features that are conserved throughout the sarbecovirus family,” said David Veesler, a professor of biochemistry at UW Medicine who led the preclinical studies.
The international Phase 1/2 trial launched its enrollment last month and aims to involve 368 healthy adults in Perth, Western Australia. Results from studies evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine are expected in 2028.
