A Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Pushing Forward (NextGen Covid Vax Update 30)

A big first this month for next generation coronavirus vaccine. The first clinical trials for a US-developed pancoronavirus vaccine have been under the radar. Now the developers from Stanford University have a South Korean manufacturing partner wanting to fast-track the vaccine: The vaccine could be in phase 2 trials in several countries by the start of next year. This would put the vaccine at the front of the pancoronavirus vaccine pack. It’s planned to be low-cost, and the manufacturers are interested in developing mucosal forms.

There is also a phase 1 trial report for a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine that was discontinued some time ago in the UK, plus 6 new reports of preclinical research this month. I found no further news about US Project NextGen-funded trials – I’ve got a list of the funded trials below each category, noting what I’ve heard so far for each.

As usual, 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?”

• 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

Mucosal vaccine news

This month, check out the pancoronavirus section below: The Stanford-developed “universal coronavirus vaccine” may at some point be tried in mucosal form, and there is a preclinical report for another pancoronavirus vaccine as well. There are 2 other preclinical reports for mucosal vaccines as well.

Preclinical results for mucosal vaccines

• Oral and intranasal viral vector vaccine from the University of California (UCLA) (USA): This is the third preclinical report for rLVS ΔcapB/MN. The vaccine is based on Francisella tularensis virus. In this new study, the developers tested an enhanced version in hamsters, challenged with Delta and Omicron. Vaccinated hamsters had less virus and illness than unvaccinated controls. (All records for this vaccine here.)

• An intranasal peptide vaccine from the University of Alberta and National Research Council (Canada): This is the second report for this vaccine. This time it was tested in mice, but the full text isn’t available yet so I can’t tell you much. I reported on their other paper in January, which tested the vaccine in hamsters. It was aiming to be a variant-proof vaccine. However the abstract for the new paper suggests it might be a pancoronavirus vaccine.

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.
• 34 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. They are mostly viral vector vaccines.
• 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, and finished recruiting by early 2025.

• Phase 2b (“mini-efficacy”) for the intranasal protein subunit vaccine from Castlevax – this grant was paused and may be terminated;
  
• Phase 2b for the intranasal live attenuated vaccine from Codagenix (not started, no recent news);
  
• Phase 2b for the oral viral vector vaccine from Vaxart (trial start announced at the end of September 2024; trial registration here) – this grant was not cancelled and the trial is proceeding; and
• Phase 2b for the intranasal viral vector vaccine from Blue Lake Biotech/CyanVac (trial started in December 2024, trial registration here – no recent news).

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Durable or “variant-proof” vaccine news

There is one clinical trial report this month, and 2 preclinical reports in this section. There is also a vaccine that may fit in this category above in the mucosal section.

Phase 1 trial results for the self-amplifying mRNA vaccine from Imperial College London (UK)

Imperial College London had aimed to sidestep the pharmaceutical industry with a public saRNA Covid vaccine. In 2022, I described this vaccine as “the one that struggled.” In the end, the immune responses in the phase 2 trial were disappointing, and the trial was discontinued.

This month, the results of a phase 1 trial in Uganda for this vaccine were published. There were 42 participants, and no serious vaccine-related events.

(All records on this vaccine here.)

Preclinical reports

• Trans amplifying mRNA vaccine from the Pennsylvania State University (USA): This is another kind of next generation mRNA vaccine, and it’s the first preclinical paper for this vaccine. As with self-amplifying mRNA, the vaccine was able to use far less mRNA per dose. It was tested in mice, comparing the vaccine with regular mRNA vax and a mock vaccine, including an Omicron challenge test which showed comparable protection between the 2 types of mRNA. The mice showed signs of immune response to a range of Covid variants, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron BA.1.

• Extracellular vesicles vaccine from Ajou University (South Korea): This vaccine incorporates 4 proteins from SARS-CoV-2. It was tested in mice, and the developers report particularly on T-cell results.

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. Application for authorization in the UK planned next.

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 – no recent news);

• 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.

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Pancoronavirus vaccine news

As I mentioned in the intro, the big news this month is in this section. It’s been a slow-moving category of vaccine: Some of the developers working with an eye to future pandemics, not necessarily aiming to roll out as a vaccine for Covid in the short-term. In addition, some of the developers working towards preparedness for future pandemics appeared to have turned their attention to vaccines for avian influenza as a higher priority. So a manufacturer making “universal coronavirus vaccine” a priority now is an important development. As well those plans for the first phase 2 trial trial of a pancoronavirus vaccine, there are new preclinical reports for 2 vaccines this month.

Stanford University-developed vaccine, DX-DRG-B05, heading to global phase 2 trial with South Korean manufacturer, DXVX

The developers at Stanford aimed for a low-cost vaccine stable at room temperature, that would not be vulnerable to changing Covid variants. It’s a ferritin-based virus-like particle vaccine, using nanoparticles to modify the proteins. In December 2024, the group entered into an exclusive manufacturing and marketing agreement with DXVX in South Korea: DXVX is also interested in developing mucosal forms of the vaccine.

DXVX announced that the Stanford developers had “successfully” completed 2 phase 1 clinical trials, and they were accelerating this vaccine. They are applying for the go-ahead for a global phase 2 trial in the US, South Korea, and elsewhere in Asia, with the goal of starting the trial at the beginning of 2026.

There’s a brief overview of the vaccine here. The details there about the phase 1 trials helped me find the trial register entries for them – they had gone under the radar because those entries didn’t have identifying details about the vaccine or its developer. The first trial tested various doses for 121 participants in the US. The second trial was run in South Africa, with 130 participants. They were randomized to one of 3 dose levels of DX-DRG-B05 or a dose of an mRNA vaccine. Both trials began in 2023 and were completed in 2024.

Although there are no results reported yet for the clinical trials, there have been 6 preclinical reports from the group, including a study showing signs of immune response to both SARS 1 and 2 in primates.

(All records on this vaccine, including related work from the same development group, here.)

Preclinical studies:

Mosaic-8b from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (USA): Caltech has partnered with Ingenza (UK) to further develop this protein subunit vaccine, though there’s no news yet on whether they have established a way to manufacture this complex vaccine and move into clinical trial. This new report in mice is the 7th preclinical report for this vaccine. The researchers tested atomic layer deposition (ALD) with the vaccine. That’s a new technology, they write, which “permits multiple dosing with a single administration by pulsatile release of one or more immunogens.” They tested a single dose of versions of the vaccine with ALD in previously unvaccinated mice, and as a booster in mice previously vaccinated with an mRNA vaccine, looking for signs of immune response to some Covid variants and the original SARS. The researchers concluded that ALD increased the breadth of antibody response. (All records for this vaccine here.)

3Rs-NC, an intranasal subunit vaccine from Sun Yat-Sen University/Guangzhou Medical University (USA): This is the first report I’ve seen for this vaccine. It includes components from 3 protein clusters found in sarbecoviruses, including one found in SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine was tested in mice, and the developers report that the vaccine protected the animals in challenge tests with Omicron and 2 bat coronaviruses.

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, 7 have reached phase 1 clinical trials, and 1 has reached phase 2, 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.
  
  
• Duke University (USA) – protein subunit.
  
  
• 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.

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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).

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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).
GLS-5301 DNA GeneOne Life Science (South Korea)	Intranasal.	Phase 1. Results.
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. (Previously available in preprint.)
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.)

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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 * Non-primate
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Germany NILV-PanCoVac	Viral vector All	Non-primate (mucosal)
China Cuba Joint Innovation Center China, Cuba PanCoV1, PanCoV2	Protein subunit Sarbeco	Non-primate (mucosal) Non-primate (mucosal) Non-primate (mucosal) Non-primate (mucosal) Non-primate (mucosal) Primate (mucosal)
Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Pathogen Microbiology and Immunology China Unnamed	Protein subunit Sarbeco	Non-primate
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 Cov-RBD-scNP-001	Protein subunit Beta	Primate Primate, non-primate Non-primate (previously in preprint) Primate, non-primate	US government grant terminated in March 2025. Phase 1 trial. (Up to 51 people in the US) Not yet recruiting.
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.
Johns Hopkins University USA Unnamed	Viral vector Sarbeco	Primate, non-primate
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/*DXVX USA/South Korea DX-DRG-B05	Virus-like particle Beta	Non-primate Primate Erratum (correction to legend in a figure). Non-primate Non-primate (previously preprint)	* Phase 1 clinical trials completed in the US (registered here) and South Africa (registered here), and planning underway for phase 2 trials in 2026 in South Korea, elsewhere in Asia, and the US.
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
* Sun Yat-Sen University/Guangzhou Medical University China 3Rs-NC	Protein subunit Sarbeco	Non-primate (mucosal)
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 Sarbeco	Non-primate Non-primate

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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.
  

• Pancoronavirus vaccines aim to protect against coronaviruses more broadly – sometimes called “universal coronavirus vaccine.” These 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 MERS as well as the sarbecoviruses), or
  
  – up to the whole coronavirus family, which has 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).

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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):

1. Mucosal vaccines (March 2022)
2. Pan-SARS-Cov-2 and pancoronavirus (July 2022)
3. Mucosal vaccines (July 2022)
4. Mucosal vaccines (September 2022)
5. Mucosal vaccines (April 2023)
6. 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.)