Single-shot Ad26 vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques

Mercado NB; Zahn R; Wegmann F; Loos C; Chandrashekar A; Yu JY; Liu JY; Peter L; McMahan K; Tostanoski LH; He X; Martinez DR; Rutten L; Bos R; van Manen D; Vellinga J; Custers J; Langedijk JP; Kwaks T; Bakkers MJG; Zuijdgeest D; Huber SKR; Atyeo C; Fischinger S; Burke JS; Feldman J; Hauser BM; Caradonna TM; Bondzie EA; Dagotto G; Gebre MS; Hoffman E; Jacob-Dolan C; Kirilova M; Li ZF; Lin ZJ; Mahrokhian SH; Maxfield LF; Nampanya F; Nityanandam R; Nkolola JP; Patel S; Ventura JD; Verrington K; Wan HH; Pessaint L; Van Ry A; Blade K; Strasbaugh A; Cabus M; Brown R; Cook A; Zouantchangadou S; Teow E; Andersen H; Lewis MG; Cai YF; Chen B; Schmidt AG; Reeves RK; Baric RS; Lauffenburger DA; Alter G; Stoffels P; Mammen M; Van Hoof J; Schuitemaker H; Barouch DH

Nature, Vol.586, No.7830, 583-+, 2020

DOI10.1038/s41586-020-2607-z Export Citation

Single-shot Ad26 vaccine protects against SARS-CoV-2 in rhesus macaques

Mercado NB, Zahn R, Wegmann F, Loos C, Chandrashekar A, Yu JY, Liu JY, Peter L, McMahan K, Tostanoski LH, He X, Martinez DR, Rutten L, Bos R, van Manen D, Vellinga J, Custers J, Langedijk JP, Kwaks T, Bakkers MJG, Zuijdgeest D, Huber SKR, Atyeo C, Fischinger S, Burke JS, Feldman J, Hauser BM, Caradonna TM, Bondzie EA, Dagotto G, Gebre MS, Hoffman E, Jacob-Dolan C, Kirilova M, Li ZF, Lin ZJ, Mahrokhian SH, Maxfield LF, Nampanya F, Nityanandam R, Nkolola JP, Patel S, Ventura JD, Verrington K, Wan HH, Pessaint L, Van Ry A, Blade K, Strasbaugh A, Cabus M, Brown R, Cook A, Zouantchangadou S, Teow E, Andersen H, Lewis MG, Cai YF, Chen B, Schmidt AG, Reeves RK, Baric RS, Lauffenburger DA, Alter G, Stoffels P, Mammen M, Van Hoof J, Schuitemaker H, Barouch DH

A safe and effective vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be required to end the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic(1-8). For global deployment and pandemic control, a vaccine that requires only a single immunization would be optimal. Here we show the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a single dose of adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) vector-based vaccines expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein in non-human primates. Fifty-two rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were immunized with Ad26 vectors that encoded S variants or sham control, and then challenged with SARS-CoV-2 by the intranasal and intratracheal routes(9,10). The optimal Ad26 vaccine induced robust neutralizing antibody responses and provided complete or near-complete protection in bronchoalveolar lavage and nasal swabs after SARS-CoV-2 challenge. Titres of vaccine-elicited neutralizing antibodies correlated with protective efficacy, suggesting an immune correlate of protection. These data demonstrate robust single-shot vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 in non-human primates. The optimal Ad26 vector-based vaccine for SARS-CoV-2, termed Ad26.COV2.S, is currently being evaluated in clinical trials. The protective efficacy of a single dose of adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) vector-based vaccine expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in non-human primates is demonstrated.