Icosavax -Model IVX-411 -SARS-CoV-2 VLP Vaccine Candidate
IVX-411 targets SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Developed using cutting-edge structure-based design techniques at the Institute for Protein Design at the UW School of Medicine, IVX-411, our lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19, is a self-assembling protein nanoparticle that displays 60 copies of the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoprotein receptor-binding domain (RBD) in a highly immunogenic array.
Preclinical data on IVX-411 and precursor candidates in mice and non-human primates show induction of robust neutralizing antibody titers and protection from viral challenge (Cell 2020, Nature 2021). Titers after the second administration were ten-fold higher than those seen with the soluble SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that forms the basis of many other vaccine candidates. The data also show a strong B-cell response after immunization, critical for immune memory and a durable vaccine effect, with antibodies that target multiple distinct epitopes on the RBD, suggesting potential protection from escape mutations.
Icosavax has received a $10 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support the company’s COVID-19 vaccine program through the first in human Phase 1 clinical trial in young and older adults. Clinical trials are underway.