Alabama Newscenter — UAB Researchers: Intranasal COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate Shows Sterilizing Immunity in Preclinical Tests

By Jeff Hansen

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers report additional preclinical evidence of the potency of a single-dose, intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate – AdCOVID – that was created by Altimmune Inc., a Maryland-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company.

The UAB researchers, led by Fran Lund, in collaboration with Altimmune, have found that a single intranasal dose provided sterilizing immunity in the lungs of vaccinated animals. In contrast, the lungs of nonvaccinated animals showed dense pulmonary infection and disease following infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

“In the current study,” said Scot Roberts, chief scientific officer at Altimmune, “we found a heavy burden of infectious SARS-CoV-2 virus in the lungs of nonvaccinated mice following challenge with the virus. Importantly, no infectious virus could be detected in the lungs of AdCOVID-vaccinated animals. These data suggest that a single intranasal vaccination with AdCOVID can provide sterilizing immunity that neutralizes infectious virus, which is believed to be the best way to block viral transmission.

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