Science, 6 May, 2020, DOI：https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc1932

Rapid development of an inactivated vaccine candidate for SARS-CoV-2

Qiang Gao1,*, Linlin Bao2,*, Haiyan Mao3,*, Lin Wang1,*, Kangwei Xu4,*, Minnan Yang5,*, Yajing Li1, Ling Zhu5, Nan Wang5, Zhe Lv5, Hong Gao2, Xiaoqin Ge1, Biao Kan6, Yaling Hu1, Jiangning Liu2, Fang Cai1, Deyu Jiang1, Yanhui Yin1, Chengfeng Qin7, Jing Li1, Xuejie Gong1, Xiuyu Lou3, Wen Shi3, Dongdong Wu1, Hengming Zhang1, Lang Zhu1, Wei Deng2, Yurong Li1, Jinxing Lu6, Changgui Li4, Xiangxi Wang5, Weidong Yin1, Yanjun Zhang3, Chuan Qin2

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in an unprecedented public health crisis. There are currently no SARS-CoV-2-specific treatments or vaccines available due to the novelty of the virus. Hence, rapid development of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are urgently needed. Here we developed a pilot-scale production of a purified inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccine candidate (PiCoVacc), which induced SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies in mice, rats and non-human primates. These antibodies neutralized 10 representative SARS-CoV-2 strains, suggesting a possible broader neutralizing ability against SARS-CoV-2 strains. Three immunizations using two different doses (3 μg or 6 μg per dose) provided partial or complete protection in macaques against SARS-CoV-2 challenge, respectively, without observable antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. These data support clinical development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines for humans.

Article link：https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/05/05/science.abc1932