This month, there are results from 3 clinical trials of next generation vaccines, including an early safety study of an intranasal vaccine…
More Progress in Vaccines to Reduce Covid Transmission (NextGen Vax Update 28)
This month, there’s good news about an intranasal vaccine in France that has a chance of making it over the line in 2026 if all goes well: Preclinical studies show it could block the chain of Covid transmission in the laboratory. There are some clinical trial results for a couple of other vaccines, and 9 other preclinical studies – including several other vaccines showing protection against transmission. There’s more data on the safety of the first self-amplifying mRNA vaccine authorized in Japan and Europe – and data on another.
Although the new US regime has cancelled more next generation Covid vaccine trials, there is some very good news: The first Project NextGen-funded “mini-efficacy” trial is back on. That’s where I start this update.
After that, I have the news from the last month broken down into 3 categories of next-generation Covid vaccines as usual (definitions below). Each section ends with an overview of vaccines in the category – and each has a link to skip over that straight to the next news section.
ICYMI:
- An introduction to self-amplifying mRNA, plus my compendium on getting ready for more mRNA fear-mongering.
- Check out my May 2024 post, “When will we get a sterilizing Covid vaccine?”
- News from the US
- Mucosal vaccine news
- Durable or “variant-proof” vaccine news
- Pancoronavirus vaccine news
- Addendum 1: List of authorized vaccines (with countries)
- Addendum 2: Table of mucosal vaccines in clinical trials
- Addendum 3: Table of pancoronavirus vaccines with preclinical results
- Addendum 4: Definitions of vaccine types
News from the US
The Vaxart “mini-efficacy” trial has reportedly gotten the green light
This is the oral pill that was the first Project NextGen-funded trial to pass its safety trial, and was ready to start recruiting for the rest of its 10,000 phase 2b participants. In February, the government put them on a 90-day pause. Last week, the stop work order was lifted, and recruiting can resume. There are 145 locations for this trial around the US. If you’re interested in participating, contact details are here.
Other Project NextGen funding news
GeoVax was not so lucky: They announced their Project NextGen grant has been terminated. They are the manufacturers of the vaccine designed to be more effective and more durable for people with suppressed immune systems. GeoVax had planned to start their “mini-efficacy” trial in the second half of 2025. The company said the development of this vaccine will continue.
Castlevax also had Project NextGen funding for a “mini-efficacy” trial for their nasal vaccine. A spokesperson said they have received a stop work order, and believe the grant will be terminated. Development of that vaccine is apparently continuing.
I haven’t seen reports yet for other Project NextGen-funded clinical trials. They are listed at the end of each of category below. One is a phase 1 trial for an NIH-developed vaccine, MPV/S-2P. From the history in the trial register record it appears it was fully recruited before the end of 2024. The only other Project NextGen trial that had already started was the “mini-efficacy” trial for the nasal vaccine from Blue Lake Biotech/CyanVac.
Mucosal vaccine news
This month, I’ve added the results of one clinical trial and 7 preclinical reports for mucosal vaccines – with several showing blockage of the transmission chain in tests co-housing vaccinated and unvaccinated animals. See above for news on some Project NextGen-funded trials of mucosal vaccines.
Preclinical results and clinical trial news for the nasal spray from Lovaltech (France)
Still no word on which “big pharmaceutical company” is partnering with Lovaltech to bring this vaccine to rollout. There’s a press report with more details about their first clinical trial, though. Recruitment was planned to start for phase 1 this month, with phase 2 planned for early 2026. Phase 1 results are expected this year.
Called LVT001, it’s a protein subunit vaccine based on a fusion of SARS-CoV-2 proteins (including spike and nucleocapsid proteins – SwFN). The developers hope it will be “variant-proof” and prevent transmission. Their first paper reports on the vaccine’s characteristics and preclinical studies in mice and hamsters. The preclinical studies included the full vaccine and separate components, including a challenge test with the Delta variant.
The full vaccine protected mice against morbidity and mortality. In the challenge test with hamsters, SARS-CoV-2 virus was detected in nasal swabs of control animals, but not vaccinated ones. There was also a transmission test in hamsters, with 2 groups of 10 naïve animals co-housed with vaccinated or control animals after the challenge test. This showed that the vaccine reduced transmission: 7/10 in the control lost weight and had virus detected – whereas only 4 of the hamsters co-housed with vaccinated animals had some detectable virus, but not enough for virus shedding. The developers concluded that the chain of contagion had been blocked.
Small phase 3 trial of booster of iNCOVACC in India
This is one of the mucosal vaccines that have been rolled out, in India only. It’s a viral vector vaccine based on adenovirus that was developed by Washington University in St Louis (USA), and manufactured by Bharat Biotech in India. The trial compared an intranasal booster of iNCOVACC with booster shots of Covaxin (inactivated vaccine) and Covishield (viral vector vaccine, local version of the AstraZeneca vax). There were 875 participants, and it wasn’t enough to detect any difference in immune responses between the 3 boosters. There was a clear difference in adverse reactions, however, with iNCOVACC causing less reactions than Covishield.
Other preclinical reports for mucosal vaccines
In addition to the Lovaltech report above, there are another 6 preclinical studies this month:
- Intranasal protein subunit vaccine developed at the National University of Singapore: This vaccine is called Clec9A-RBD, and it targets dendritic cells. This new preclinical report is the second for this vaccine, but the first report on mucosal use. (The first report is here.) The developers hypothesize that this intranasal vaccine may also provide protection against other sarbecoviruses. In these new studies, mice were initially vaccinated with BNT/Pfizer vaccine, and received Clec9A-RBD as a booster in various forms, including an intranasal version.
Intranasal vaccine induced signs of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and other sarbecoviruses. An Omicron challenge test was done 6 months after the booster. Control animals that had been boosted with a bivalent version of the BNT/Pfizer vaccine were less protected at the 6 month challenge, whereas nasal Clec9A-RBD had persisted.
- Intranasal self-amplifying mRNA vaccine developed by Access to Advanced Health Institute (AAHI) (USA): I’ve written an introduction to self-amplifying mRNA vaccine here. These vaccines can be more durable than standard mRNA, and are stable without super-freezing. The developers have published previous preclinical studies on an intramuscular version of this vaccine, including reporting the results of a phase 1 trial. (All records on this vaccine here.)
This new preclinical report describes the results for an intranasal version used as a booster after an injection of the vaccine. (Some results were previously available as a preprint.) The vaccine was tested in mice and hamsters, including a challenge test in hamsters. The developers also tested for transmission by co-housing the animals with unvaccinated hamsters. They reported that the vaccinated animals had reduced viral loads and did not transmit the virus to the unvaccinated hamsters in their cages.
- Intranasal viral vector vaccine developed at the NIAID, NIH (USA): This vaccine is based on a parainfluenza vector designed for pediatric use, and it’s in a phase 1 clinical trial. (All records on this vaccine here.) The new report describes testing a version of the vaccine adapted for Delta and Omicron in pediatric hamsters. The vaccinated hamsters were protected against 3 versions of SARS-CoV-2 in challenge tests (Wuhan, Delta, and Omicron).
- Intranasal viral vector vaccine from Castlevax (developed by Icahn Mt Sinai) (USA): This vaccine is based on a Newcastle disease vector, and has been used to develop intramuscular and intranasal vaccines in several countries. The Castlevax intranasal version is in phase 1 trial. (All records on the Castlevax version here.) This new report describes tests of a multivalent version (Wuhan, Beta, Delta) in hamsters, including Omicron challenge tests and co-housing to test for transmission. Intranasal boosting protected against nasal viral load and transmission to unvaccinated animals, while booster shots did not.
- Intranasal mRNA vaccine from the Peter Doherty Institute (Australia): This report describes early work on delivery mRNA intranasally in mice. Intranasal vaccination did not induce enough signs of mucosal or systemic immune response.
- Intranasal virus-like particle vaccine developed at the Gamaleya National Research Center (Russia): This report was a study of safety of a vaccine in mice and rats.
Skip ahead to next news category
Mucosal Covid vaccine overview
- 5 mucosal vaccines are currently authorized for use, at least 1 in each of 6 countries. However, none have been authorized by a drug regulatory agency designated stringent, or listed, by WHO.
- 33 mucosal vaccines have reached clinical trial, although some of the vaccines are no longer in development. The vaccines that have entered clinical trials are tracked in a table below.
- In addition to the 5 authorized mucosal vaccines, 5 have reached phase 2 trials, and another 2 have reached phase 2/3 trial.
US Project NextGen-funded trials in this category:
- Phase 1 for MPV/S-2P, the intranasal viral vector vaccine developed by the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). This trial for 60 participants began recruiting in July 2024.
- Grant may be terminated: Phase 2b (“mini-efficacy”) for the intranasal protein subunit vaccine from Castlevax;
- Phase 2b for the intranasal live attenuated vaccine from Codagenix;
- Phase 2b for the oral viral vector vaccine from Vaxart (trial start announced at the end of September 2024; trial registration here); and
- Phase 2b for the intranasal viral vector vaccine from Blue Lake Biotech/CyanVac (trial started in December 2024, trial registration here).
Durable or “variant-proof” vaccine news
There was more data on the safety of Kostaive, the self-amplifying mRNA (samRNA) vaccine recently approved in Europe – from clinical and preclinical studies. There were another 3 preclinical reports for vaccines in this category this month, including an intranasal self-amplifying mRNA vaccine already discussed above.
More clinical and preclinical data on the samRNA vaccine, Kostaive (USA)
This month, there were 2 publications for this vaccine – an analysis of pooled safety data from phases 1 to 3 of a trial in over 17,000 people in Vietnam, and a study testing the clearance rate of the samRNA in mice.
In the analysis of the clinical trial data, the authors reported that there had been no reports of myocarditis or pericarditis in the one-year follow-up.
In the preclinical study, the researchers found that the vaccine could be detected in the lymph nodes at 28 days after vaccination, but not at 44 days. They concluded “that prolonged expression of spike proteins in lymph nodes may, if not entirely, be responsible for the induction of higher and prolonged levels of neutralizing antibodies by the saRNA vaccine.”
(All records on this vaccine here.)
Other preclinical studies:
- Viral vector vaccine from GeoVax (USA): This vaccine is based on Modified Vaccinia Virus. It is in clinical trials, and this new preclinical report is the seventh for the vaccine. (All records on this vaccine here.) The vaccine was tested in mice, including Omicron challenge studies. No vaccinated mice died, but 45% of the control animals died. The vaccinated mice also had much lower viral loads even when they had only one dose of the prime-boost regimen.
- An mRNA vaccine from Changchun BCHT Biotechnology (China): This report describes tests in mice and monkeys, including Delta and Omicron challenge tests in mice. The developers concluded that the vaccine induced signs of immune response to a range of variants, and it substantially reduced viral load in the challenge tests.
Skip ahead to next news category
Durable or “variant-proof” vaccine overview
Note: This is a rather vague category, including vaccines that aim to be more durable. I’m not sure how many can be classified as aiming to be “variant-proof”.
Authorized vaccine:
There is one vaccine in this category that has been authorized by a drug regulatory authority designated by WHO has stringent, or listed – and tested against an mRNA vaccine:
- LUNAR-COV19 (USA), trade name Kostaive: This self-amplifying mRNA vaccine was authorized in Japan in November 2023, with rollout in October 2024. It was also authorized for Europe in February 2025.
US Project NextGen-funded trials in this category:
- Phase 1 for TNX-1800 from Tonix (aiming for lifelong immunity) (planned to go into clinical trial in 2024);
- Funding was terminated for the Phase 2b (“mini-efficacy”) trial for GeoVax (viral vector vaccine).
Note: Gritstone Bio was originally in line for a phase 2b trial for their self-amplifying mRNA vaccine. However, the company declared bankruptcy and in January 2025, their assets were sold.
Pancoronavirus vaccine news
There is now a journal publication for a phase 1 trial that was reported in a preprint late last year. This is just the third pancoronavirus vaccine to release results of a clinical trial, and it might be the only one proceeding – the company developing one of the others declared bankruptcy, and there has been no news for a long time on the other.
There were also 2 preclinical study for vaccines in this category this month. I discussed one of them above – the intranasal vaccine hoping to provide sarbecovirus protection developed the National University of Singapore.
Phase 1 trial for the peptide vaccine from Gylden Pharma (UK)
Gylden Pharma is a UK-based company, with a subsidiary in the US. (The company was formerly called Emergex.) I haven’t seen any publications of preclinical studies for this vaccine, so we don’t have information on any coronavirus other than SARS-CoV-2. Results from this phase 1 trial were previously available in a preprint.
This vaccine is administered via a skin patch that delivers the vaccine via microneedles. You can read more about Gylden’s vaccine platform here. It aims to induce T-cell immunity. It was too difficult to draw conclusions about impact on SARS-CoV-2 in the phase 1 trial because participants had already had Covid or been vaccinated.
As I reported last year based on the preprint, there were 26 participants in the phase 1 trial. They were randomized to groups of 10 for 2 doses of low- or high-dose vaccine, or groups of 3 for low- or high-dose adjuvant only. All but one participant had previously been vaccinated with at least 2 doses of other Covid vaccines.
All the participants reported adverse reactions, as the patch discolored the skin for about a day for almost everyone. There were 5 reports of severe (short-term) adverse reactions, and there were no serious adverse events. (See my post explaining what these terms mean.)
Preclinical:
An mRNA vaccine from the University of California Irvine and Techimmune (USA): This is the third preclinical report for this vaccine. (All records here.) The vaccine was tested in mice, including Delta and Omicron challenge tests.
Pancoronavirus vaccine overview
A table below this post keeps track of vaccines I’ve added to this category so far that have publicly available preclinical results. Of these vaccines, 6 have reached phase 1 clinical trials, with some results for 3 of them marked *:
- * CoronaTcP (Gylden Pharma, UK/US) – protein subunit. (Note: This vaccine was previously called PepGNP-SARSCov2, and the manufacturer was previously called Emergex.)
- DIOSynVax (Cambridge University spin-off, UK) – mRNA.
- INSERM/Ennodc (formerly LinkInVax) (France) – protein subunit.
- Osivax (France) – protein subunit.
- * VBI Vaccines (Canada) – eVLP. [This company announced bankruptcy in late 2024.]
- * Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR, USA) – protein subunit.
US Project NextGen-funded trials in this category:
- CoronaTcP (Gylden Pharma, UK/US) – protein subunit.
- Unnamed (PopVax, India) – mRNA.
Addendum 1: List of authorized next generation Covid vaccines (with countries)
There are now 7 next-generation Covid vaccines authorized in 7 countries. Only one has been authorized or approved by drug regulatory agencies designated stringent, or listed, by WHO – in bold. Authorization is pending in the European Union. I’ve listed the vaccines in 2 categories, in order of date of first authorization (or initial approval).
Mucosal:
- Razi-Cov Pars (Iran), intranasal protein subunit vaccine: Iran (October 2021).
- Sputnik (Russia), intranasal viral vector vaccine: Russia (April 2022).
- Convidecia (China), inhaled viral vector vaccine: China (September 2022), Morocco (November 2022), Indonesia (March 2023).
- iNCOVACC (USA/India), intranasal viral vector vaccine: India (September 2022).
- Pneucolin (China), intranasal viral vector vaccine: China (December 2022).
Self-amplifying mRNA:
- Gemcovac (India): India (June 2022).
- Kostaive (LUNAR-COV19) (USA): Japan (November 2023), European Union (February 2025).
Addendum 2: Table of mucosal vaccines in clinical trials
* Indicates new entry since previous update post.
Note: Where there is a link to “All records” for a vaccine, that’s in my public Zotero collection for the vaccine, and it may include non-mucosal studies for that vaccine. Notes on that collection are here. For details on how I track Covid vaccine progress to maintain that collection, see my background post.
| Vaccine, type, manufacturer | Mucosal version(s) | Phase 1 to 2 clinical trials | Phase 3+ trial(s) | Phase 3+ efficacy or immunogenicity results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACM-001 Protein subunit ACM Biolabs (Singapore/Switzerland) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results (press release only) | ||
| Ad5-nCoV (Convidecia Air) Viral vector (adenovirus) CanSino (China) (All records) | Inhaled through the mouth using a nebulizer. | Phase 1. Results. Phase 1/2. Results (plus second later preprint). Phase 1/2. Results. Phase 2 (aged 6-17 years). Booster adapted for variant. | 10,420 people in China (Phase 3). Results. 1,350 people (Phase 3). 540 people, in Malaysia (Phase 3). Results. 904 people in China (Phase 4). Results. 360 people (Phase 4). 451 people (Phase 4). Results. 10,000 people in China (Phase 4). Results for 4,089 in the Ad5-nCoV arms. (Previously in preprint.) | 904 people: Comparison after 2-dose course of inactivated vax: Convidecia injection vs inhaled, protein subunit, or CoronaVac booster (Phase 4 results). Both injected & inhaled Convidecia had stronger impact on signs of immunity than the others; response after inhaled version was slower but longer-lasting than injected (which peaked then declined from day 14), better for Omicron though not as good for original virus. No measure of mucosal immunity used. 539 people (Malaysia): Signs of serum immune response were lower for inhaled Convidecia than for injected BNT/Pfizer vax at 14 days, but grew for Convidecia to similar levels. Mucosal immune response (SIgA) was greater for Convidecia; the rate of adverse reactions was lower. 451 people: Comparison of different versions adapted for variant, including a bivalent version. Booster of inhaled Convidecia after previous vaccination with inactivated vaccine. Signs of immune response to Omicron were higher for the bivalent vaccine, though lower for the original SARS-CoV-2 strain. 4,089 people, plus a 2,008 un-randomized unboosted control group: This trial tested the original vax during Omicron, with either an injected or inhaled booster. There wasn’t a significant difference between them, though the injected version fell below their ineffectiveness threshold and the inhaled one reached effectiveness despite having a smaller dose of vaccine. |
| Ad5-S Viral vector (adenovirus) State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease/Guangzhou Enbao Biomedical Technology Co (China) (All records) | Intranasal. | Infection prevention study. | ||
| AdCOVID Viral vector (adenovirus) AltImmune (USA) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results – press release only. Discontinued after phase 1. | ||
| AdS+N Viral vector (adenovirus) ImmunityBio (USA) (All records) | Intranasal, oral capsule, or sublingual. | Phase 1 (oral). Phase 1 (sublingual). | ||
| AeroVax (Ad5-triCoV) Viral vector (adenovirus) McMaster University/Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Canada) (All records) | Aerosol. | Phase 1 (& ChAd-triCoV/Mac). Phase 2. Short protocol. Began enrolling in March 2025. | ||
| Avacc 10 Protein subunit Intravacc (Netherlands) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results (press release only) | ||
| bacTRL-Spike-1 Live attenuated Symvivo (Canada) (All records) | Oral. | Phase 1. | ||
| BBV154 (iNCOVACC) Viral vector (adenovirus) Bharat Biotech (India) (All records) This vaccine is ChAd-SARS-CoV-2-S Washington University in St Louis (USA) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Phase 2. Small amount of data from these trials in the drug product information. Phase 2/3. Phase 2. | In India, 2-dose course of BBV154 vs 2-dose course of injected Covaxin inactivated vaccine (Phase 3 – and here). Results (previously in preprint). See also the drug product information. 875 people in India, booster trial (Phase 3). * Results. | 2,971 previously unvaxed people were assigned for the intranasal iNCOVACC, 161 for injected Covaxin. This trial did not aim to assess disease outcomes. It took place during the first Omicron wave. Signs of immune response were higher for iNCOVACC than Covaxin. Adverse events rate very low (5% local and 3% systemic) – lower than for comparison group. * 875 previously vaxed people were boosted with iNCOVACC, Covaxin (inactivated vax) or Covishield (AstraZeneca viral vector vax). Not large enough to detect a difference in immune response. Lower rate of adverse reactions than Covishield. |
| B/HPIV3/S-6P Viral vector (parainfluenza) NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (USA) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Fully recruited by early July 2024. | ||
| BV-AdCoV-1 Viral vector (adenovirus) Wuhan BravoVax (China) (All records) | Inhaled through the mouth using a nebulizer. | Phase 1. | ||
| ChAdOx1 Viral vector (adenovirus) Oxford University (UK) (This is the AstraZeneca vax) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Phase 1. Results. | ||
| CoV2-OGEN1 Protein subunit US Specialty Formulations/VaxForm (USA) (All records) | Oral. | Phase 1. (Fully recruited, final dose in November 2022.) Press release stating successful (without data) and progressing to phase 2 trial. | ||
| COVI-VAC Live attenuated Codagenix (USA, with the Serum Institute of India) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Press release in 2021 stating successful (without data) and progressing to phase 2/3. Preliminary results (conference abstract in 2021) and in a 2022 press release. Results in 2023 (press release only). Phase 1 (booster). | Phase 2/3, as part of the WHO Solidarity Trial for Vaccines in Mali, Colombia, Kenya, Philippines, Sierra Leone. Fully recruited by July 2024. (Protocol.) | |
| CVXGA1-001 Viral vector (parainfluenza) CyanVac/Blue Lake Tech (USA) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results (press release only). Phase 2. Results (press release only). Phase 2b. | ||
| dNS1-RBD (Pneucolin) Viral vector (influenza) Beijing Wantai BioPharm (China) (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Phase 2. Joint results. Phase 1 (age 3-17). Results. | 30,990 participants in Colombia, Philippines, South Africa, Vietnam. Results (previously in preprint.) 5,400 participants in Ghana (Phase 3). | Comparison of 2 doses of intranasal vaccine 14 days apart, with placebo control, during circulation of Omicron. Included >13,000 previously unvaccinated people. Efficacy shown 90 days after 2nd dose. There was some decline at 180 days. Efficacy against symptomatic Covid: No previous vax: 55.2% (CI 13.8 to 76.7) Inactivated: 38.2% (CI -49.2 to 74.4) Viral vector: 39.9% (CI -16.7 to 69.1) mRNA: 10.1% (CI -45.9 to 44.5) Efficacy against severe Covid: No previous vax: 66.7% (CI 8.3 to 87.9) Inactivated: 54.6% (CI -47.3 to 86.0) Viral vector: 50.0% (CI -6.8 to 76.6) mRNA: 19.5% (CI -39.2 to 53.4) Efficacy against hospitalization: 100% (CI -9.2 to 100) Adverse events were very low – similar to placebo. Less than 8% of people had a runny and/or blocked nose or sore throat. |
| FINCoVac Viral vector (adenovirus) Rokote Laboratories (Finland) | Intranasal. | Phase 1, 2nd registry record. | ||
| GAM-COVID-VAC (rAd26-S – Sputnik Light) Viral vector (adenovirus) Gamaleya Research Institute (Russia) | Intranasal. | Phase 1/2. | 7,000 participants in Russia (Phase 3 or phase 2/3 – not clear). | |
| LVT001 Protein subunit LovalTech (France) | Intranasal. | Phase 1/2. | ||
| Mambisa Protein subunit Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (CIGB) (Cuba) (All records) | Intranasal drops. | Phase 1/2. Phase 1/2. Results. Phase 2. | ||
| MPV/S-2P Viral vector (murine pneumonia) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (USA) (All records) | Intranasal drops. | Phase 1. | ||
| MV-014-212 Viral vector (RSV) Meissa Vaccines (USA) (All records) | Intranasal drops or spray. | Phase 1. Results (press release). | This vaccine is in limbo because of the company’s financial difficulties. | |
| MVA-SARS-2ST Viral vector (MVA) German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF)/IDT Biologika (All records) | Inhalation. | Phase 1. | ||
| NB2155 Viral vector (Adenovirus 5) Guangzhou Medical University/ Guangzhou National Laboratory (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. | ||
| CVAX-01 Viral vector (Newcastle Disease Virus) Castlevax/Icahn Mt Sinai (All records) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results (press release). | ||
| Ad5-S-Omicron BA.1 Viral vector (Adenovirus 5) Guangzhou Medical University/Guangzhou National Laboratory (China) (All records) | Intranasal | Phase 1. Results. | ||
| Patria (NDV-HXP-S/AVX-COVID-12-HEXAPRO) Viral vector (Newcastle Disease Virus) Laboratorio Avi-Mex (Mexico) (All records on Patria, see also CVAX-01 for early development.) | Intranasal. | Phase 1. Results. Phase 2. Results. (Previously available in preprint.) | Phase 2/3 for injected version only: Results. | |
| PRAK-03202 Protein subunit Oravax (USA) [Oravax was established by OraMed (Israel) to develop this vaccine, using Premas Biotech’s PRAK-03202 and their oral vaccine technology] (All records on oral PRAK-03202, and on intramuscular version) | Oral. | Phase 1 (in South Africa). Results (press release only). | ||
| Razi-Cov Pars Protein subunit Razi Vaccine & Serum Research Institute (Iran) (All records) | Intranasal (third dose after 2 injections). | Phase 1. Results. Phase 2. Results. Phase 1 to 2 (in 12-17 year-olds). Phase 4 (Booster). Results. Phase 1 to 2 (in 5-17 year-olds). | 41,128 people in Iran, comparing the 3-dose course to 2-dose inactivated Sinopharm Beijing vax, only partially randomized (Phase 3). Results (Previous media report for the first 24,000 participants.) | Phase 3: The authors concluded Razi-Cov Pars was non-inferior to the inactivated vaccine, with similarly very low adverse events. However, the trial could not establish whether there was an advantage to an intranasal dose. Phase 4: Immunogenicity and safety study of intranasal booster in 195 people, placebo-controlled. Increased IgA and IgG anti-RBD in nasal mucosa, but not in serum and saliva. |
| SC-Ad6-1 Viral vector (adenovirus) Moat Bio/Tetherex (USA) (All records) | Intranasal and inhaled. | Phase 1. Trial expanded to add an inhaled version (from 130 to 190 people). Results so far briefly mentioned in press release. | ||
| SpikoGen Protein subunit Vaxine (Australia) (All records on mucosal and on all forms.) | Oral/sublingual. | Phase 1. | ||
| (Unnamed) Inactivated bacteria DreamTec (Hong Kong) (All records) | Oral. | Phase 1. Phase 1. Phase 1. Note: An article of preclinical results has been retracted over lack of ethics committee approval. | ||
| VXA-CoV2-1/VXA-CoV2-1.1-S Viral vector (adenovirus) Vaxart (USA) (All records) | Tablets. | Phase 1. Results. Phase 2. (Started October 1, 2021.) Results (press release). Additional brief results in presentation. Phase 2b. (Start announced September 30, 2024.) |
Addendum 3: Pancoronavirus vaccines with preclinical results
| Developer Country Vaccine name | Type of: Vaccine Coronavirus | Preclinical results | Clinical trial status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academia Sinica Taiwan (Taiwan) (Unnamed) | mRNA All | Non-primate | |
| Baylor College of Medicine (USA) (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Beta | Non-primate | |
| Beijing University of Chemical Technology (China) (Unnamed) | Live attenuated pangolin coronavirus All | Non-primate | |
| Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center USA RhAd52.CoV.Consv | Viral vector Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Ingenza USA, UK Mosaic-8b | Protein subunit Beta | Non-primate Non-primate Primate, non-primate Non-primate (previously in preprint) Non-primate (previously in preprint) Primate and non-primate | |
| Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Germany NILV-PanCoVac | Viral vector All | Non-primate (mucosal) | |
| China Cuba Joint Innovation Center China, Cuba Unnamed | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate (mucosal) Non-primate (mucosal) | |
| Codiak USA exoVACC Pan Beta Coronavirus | Protein subunit Beta | Article on development Non-primate (conference slides) Non-primate (conference slides) | (This company began proceedings in bankruptcy court. See news.) |
| DIOSynvax UK DIOS-CoVax/ pEVAC-PS | mRNA Sarbeco | Non-primate Non-primate Non-primate (a different vaccine) | Phase 1 trial (incl. protocol) (Up to 36 participants in the UK) Began December 2021. Fully recruited. Expanded to another city – no trial register entry found. |
| Duke University USA RBD–scNP | Protein subunit Beta | Primate Primate, non-primate Non-primate (previously in preprint) Primate, non-primate | US government grant terminated in March 2025. |
| Francis Crick Institute UK (Unnamed) | Protein subunit with DNA boost All | Non-primate | |
| Fudan University China HR1LS | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Primate, non-primate Primate Primate Non-primate | |
| Georgia State University, University of Iowa USA SARS2-S (SARS-RBD) | mRNA Sarbeco | Non-primate Non-primate | |
| Georgia State University USA Om-S-MERS-RBD | Protein subunit All | Non-primate | |
| Georgia State University USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate Primate, non-primate Non-primate | |
| Guangdong Pharmaceutical University China (Unnamed) | Protein subunit All | Non-primate | |
| Gylden Pharma (formerly Emergex) UK/USA CoronaTcP | Protein subunit Beta | Phase 1 trial (26 participants in Switzerland) * Results. (Formerly preprint) Phase 1/2 trial (Up to 110 participants in the Philippines) (Not yet recruiting) | |
| Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology South Korea (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| INSERM Vaccine Research Institute/Ennodc (formerly LinKinVax) France PanCov (CD40.CoV2/RBDv) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate Primate, non-primate Primate Non-primate (conference poster) Non-primate | Phase 1/2 trial (Up to 240 participants in France) Booster trial; began recruiting in May 2024. |
| Mynvax Private India Unnamed | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| * National University of Singapore Singapore Clec9A-RBD | Protein subunit Sarbeco | ||
| Osivax France OVX033 | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | Phase 1 trial (48 participants in France) First participant vaccinated in February 2024. Fully recruited in June 2024. |
| Oxford University UK ChAdOx1.COVconsv12 | Viral vector Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| Pennsylvania State University USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit All | Non-primate | |
| Scripps Research Institute USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Beta | Non-primate | |
| Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University China rTTV-RBD-HA2 | Viral vector Beta (plus influenza) | Non-primate (mucosal) | |
| SK Bioscience/ Uni of Washington/Uni of North Carolina at Chapel Hill South Korea, USA GBP511 | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Primate, non-primate (testing Covid vaccine GBP510 against other sarbecoviruses) | More on plans for adapting this vaccine – GBP510 authorized as SKYCovione. See the University of Washington research listed below in this table. |
| Stanford University USA DCFHP-alum | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Primate Erratum (correction to legend in a figure). Non-primate | |
| Stanford University USA Unnamed | Protein subunit All | Non-primate | |
| State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease Guangzhou Medical University China (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Primate and non-primate | |
| Sun Yat-Sen University China (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| University of Amsterdam Netherlands (Unnamed) | Virus-like particle Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| University of California Irvine/Techimmune USA (Unnamed) | Viral vector Beta | Non-primate (previously in preprint) Non-primate (mucosal) (previously in preprint) Non-primate * Non-primate (There was also a paper about this vaccine’s development in 2021.) | US government grant terminated in March 2025. |
| University of Houston/Auravax USA NanoSTING-NS | Protein subunit (intranasal) Sarbeco | Non-primate Non-primate Non-primate Primate, non-primate | |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill USA (Unnamed) | Viral vector Sarbeco | Non-primate (Previously in preprint) | |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill USA (Unnamed) | mRNA Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| University of Sydney Australia CoVEXS5 | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| University of Toronto Canada (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| University of Washington USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate (Previously in preprint) Non-primate Non-primate (MERS vaccine developed on the same platform as GBP511.) | (See “GBP511” above in this table.) |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison (PanCorVac) USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit All | Non-primate Non-primate Non-primate Non-primate (previously in preprint) | US government grant terminated in March 2025. |
| VBI Vaccines Canada VBI-2901 | eVLP All | Non-primate Non-primate (Press release) | This company declared bankruptcy in late 2024. Phase 1 trial (103 participants in Canada) Began October 2022. Fully recruited. (Further background info.) Results (press release only). (101 participants) Previously vaccinated people boosted with 2 low or high doses, or 1 high-dose. Limited data reported. Some signs of immune response to a range of coronaviruses, mostly lasting at least 5 months. No major safety concerns. |
| Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), University of Saskatchewan Canada Unnamed | Protein subunit Sarbeco | Non-primate | |
| Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) USA SpFN/ALFQ | Protein subunit Beta | Non-primate Non-primate Non-primate (incl RFN) Non-primate Primate Primate Primate (with J&J vax) | Phase 1 trial (US) Began April 2021, with 29 participants, including some on placebo. Results. Vaxed participants showed immune responses to several Covid variants and several sarbecoviruses, but no signs of response to MERS. |
| Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) USA RFN | Protein subunit Beta | Non-primate (incl SpFN) Primate | |
| Washington University in St Louis USA (Unnamed) | Viral vector Sarbeco | Non-primate (mucosal) | |
| Yale University USA (Unnamed) | mRNA All | Non-primate Non-primate | |
| Yale University/Xanadu Bio USA (Unnamed) | Protein subunit, intranasal booster Sarbeco | Non-primate |
Addendum 4: Definitions of vaccine types
- Mucosal vaccines: These enter the body the way the virus does – through mucosal tissues. It’s hoped that provides defence against infection. They can be administered via different routes – squirts or drops in the nose, inhaled through the mouth through a nebulizer (similar to an asthma medication), or in tablet, capsule, or sublingual form.
- Pan-SARS-CoV-2 or “variant-proof” vaccines: These aim to provide protection against any variant of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 – including future variants. I include vaccines that aim for greater durability in this group. Pancoronavirus vaccines can be targeted to:
– the “subgroup” the 2 SARS viruses came from (the sarbecovirus subgenus),
– coronaviruses from the next level up (the genus, betacoronavirus, which includes lethal diseases like MERS, as well as common cold viruses), or
– the whole coronavirus family, with 4 genuses, including betacoronavirus and alphacoronavirus (with more common cold viruses).
I classify a vaccine as a pancoronavirus one when the developers are explicitly targeting coronaviruses more broadly than SARS-CoV-2, and have tested for signs of response to non-SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus(es) (or clearly plan to).
You can keep up with my work at my newsletter, Living With Evidence. And I’m active on Mastodon: @hildabast@mastodon.online and less so on BlueSky (hildabast.bsky.social).
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For details on how I track Covid vaccine progress, see my background post. Notes on my collection of studies are here. The collection is in a public Zotero library you can dig into here.
Previous update posts specifically on next generation Covid vaccines prior to this monthly series (beginning May 2023):
- Mucosal vaccines (March 2022)
- Pan-SARS-Cov-2 and pancoronavirus (July 2022)
- Mucosal vaccines (July 2022)
- Mucosal vaccines (September 2022)
- Mucosal vaccines (April 2023)
- Pancoronavirus vaccines (April 2023)
All my posts on Covid vaccines, beginning from March 2020, are tagged here.
All previous Covid-19 posts at Absolutely Maybe
My posts at The Atlantic and at WIRED.
Disclosures: My interest in Covid-19 vaccine trials began as a person worried about the virus, as my son was immunocompromised: I have no financial or professional interest in the vaccines. I have worked for an institute of the NIH in the past, but not one working on vaccines. More about me.
The cartoon is my own (CC BY-NC-ND license). (More cartoons at Statistically Funny.)