0000000000744255
AUTHOR
Kena A. Swanson
BNT162b vaccines are immunogenic and protect non-human primates against SARS-CoV-2
AbstractA safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 is urgently needed in quantities sufficient to immunise large populations. We report the preclinical development of two BNT162b vaccine candidates, which contain lipid-nanoparticle (LNP) formulated nucleoside-modified mRNA encoding SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein-derived immunogens. BNT162b1 encodes a soluble, secreted, trimerised receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon). BNT162b2 encodes the full-length transmembrane spike glycoprotein, locked in its prefusion conformation (P2 S). The flexibly tethered RBDs of the RBD-foldon bind ACE2 with high avidity. Approximately 20% of the P 2S trimers are in the two-RBD ‘down,’ one-RBD ‘up’ state. In mi…
Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 pseudovirus by BNT162b2 vaccine–elicited human sera
Vaccine protects against B1.1.7 variant The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) B1.1.7 (VOC 202012/01) variant that emerged in late 2020 in the United Kingdom has many changes in the spike protein gene. Three of these are associated with enhanced infectivity and transmissibility, and there are concerns that B.1.1.7 might compromise the effectiveness of the vaccine. Muik et al. compared the neutralization efficacy of sera from 40 subjects immunized with the BioNTech-Pfizer mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 against a pseudovirus bearing the Wuhan reference strain or the lineage B.1.1.7 spike protein (see the Perspective by Altmann et al.). Serum was derived from 40 subjects in tw…