IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,311,021
Granted Patent B2
US 12,311,021 · App. 17/180,147 · Granted May 27, 2025

Replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vectors encoding immunogenic SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins

Inventors: Christopher Lee Parks (Boonton, NJ); Maoli Yuan (Brooklyn, NY); Mark Feinberg (New York, NY); Amy Espeseth (Chalfont, PA); Andrew J. Bett (West Point, PA)
Assignees: INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE INC.; MERCK SHARP & DOHME LLC
A61K39/215C07K14/145C07K14/165C12N7/00C12N15/86A61K2039/542C12N2760/20234C12N2760/20243
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,311,021
App. No.
17/180,147
Granted
May 27, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure provides Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines, recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vectors encoding the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein or an immunogenic variant thereof, recombinant replicable VSV particles having a SARS-CoV-2 S protein or an immunogenic variant thereof on the surface of the particles, and immunogenic recombinant proteins comprising a SARS-CoV-2 S protein or a variant thereof. Immunogenic compositions comprising the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, the recombinant VSV vectors, the recombinant replicable VSV particles and/or the immunogenic recombinant proteins may be used for inducing an immune response to the SARS-CoV-2, preventing infection by the SARS-CoV-2, vaccinating against the SARS-CoV-2 and/or producing adaptive mutants of the recombinant replicable VSV particles.

Claims (108)

1. A replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector comprising:

a) at least a portion of a VSV genome comprising at least a:

VSV-N gene;

VSV-P gene;

VSV-M gene; and

VSV-L gene, and

b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an immunogenic variant of a SARS-CoV-2 S protein; wherein

(i) the nucleic acid sequence encoding the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein replaces all of the VSV-G gene in the VSV genome or all of the VSV-G gene in the VSV genome except for a portion of the VSV-G gene encoding a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and/or a portion of the VSV-G gene encoding VSV-G transmembrane domain; and

(ii) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein has at least 97% sequence identity over its own length to any one of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25-67, 153, or 158; and

(iii) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein comprises a C-terminal deletion; and

(iv) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein comprises one or more mutations relative to SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the one or more mutations are chosen from:

i) H655Y, R682K, and R685G;

ii) H655Y, R682K, R685G, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

iii) H655Y, R682K, R685G, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

iv) Q321P, H655Y, T6781, and P812R;

v) Q321P, H655Y, T678I, P812R, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

vi) E154D, S115L, T678I, R685G, and M1233K;

vii) R685G, S813R, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

viii) H655Y, R682K, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

ix) R685G, S813F, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

x) R683G, S813F and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xi) R683G, S813F, R685G, and a deletion of 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xii) H655Y, P681S, R682K, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xiii) R683G and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xiv) H655Y and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xv) R683G, D1118A, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xvi) R683G, N715S, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xvii) H655Y, N709S, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xviii) F140V, H655Y, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xix) a deletion of the 21 amino acids (Δ21) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xx) a deletion of the 19 amino acids (Δ19) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xxi) E484D, H655Y, and a deletion of 21 amino acids (Δ21) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xxii) H665Y, R685G and a deletion of the 19 amino acids (Δ19) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the SARS-CoV-2 S protein further comprises a fragment of at least 21 amino acids at the C-terminal end of a VSV-G protein;

xxiii) D614G; and

xxiv) D614N.

2. A recombinant VSV particle comprising the vector of claim 1 and displaying of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein or the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein on the surface of the VSV particle.

3. A recombinant VSV particle comprising a replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector comprising:

a) at least a portion of a VSV genome comprising a VSV-N gene, VSV-P gene, VSV-M gene, and VSV-L gene and

b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding an immunogenic variant of a SARS-CoV-2 S protein; wherein

(i) the nucleic acid sequence encoding the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein replaces all of the VSV-G gene in the VSV genome or all of the VSV-G gene in the VSV genome except for a portion of the VSV-G gene encoding a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and/or a portion of the VSV-G gene encoding VSV-G transmembrane domain, and

(ii) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein has at least 97% sequence identity over its own length to any one of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25-67, 153, or 158; and

(iii) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein comprises a C-terminal deletion; and

(iv) the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein comprises one or more mutations relative to SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the one or more mutations are chosen from:

i) H655Y, R682K, and R685G;

ii) H655Y, R682K, R685G, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

iii) H655Y, R682K, R685G, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

iv) Q321P, H655Y, T6781, and P812R;

v) Q321P, H655Y, T678I, P812R, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

vi) E154D, S115L, T678I, R685G, and M1233K;

vii) R685G, S813R, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

viii) H655Y, R682K, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

ix) R685G, S813F, and a deletion of the 9 amino acids (Δ9) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

x) R683G, S813F and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xi) R683G, S813F, R685G, and a deletion of 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xii) H655Y, P681S, R682K, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xiii) R683G and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xiv) H655Y and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xv) R683G, D1118A, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xvi) R683G, N715S, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xvii) H655Y, N709S, and a deletion of the 13 amino acids (Δ13) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xviii) F140V, H655Y, and a deletion of the 23 amino acids (Δ23) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xix) a deletion of the 21 amino acids (Δ21) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xx) a deletion of the 19 amino acids (Δ19) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xxi) E484D, H655Y, and a deletion of 21 amino acids (Δ21) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1;

xxii) H665Y, R685G and a deletion of the 19 amino acids (Δ19) at the C-terminal end of the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1, wherein the SARS-CoV-2 S protein further comprises a fragment of at least 21 amino acids at the C-terminal end of a VSV-G protein;

xxiii) D614G; and

xxiv) D614N.

4. The recombinant VSV particle of claim 3 , wherein the VSV particle displays the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein on the surface of the VSV particle.

5. A SARS-CoV-2 vaccine comprising the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 .

6. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein the immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein comprises an amino acid sequence having a length of at least 1223, 1228, 1233, 1238, 1243, 1248, 1249, 1250, 1251, 1252, 1253, 1254, 1255, 1256, 1257, 1258, 1259, 1260, 1261, 1262, 1263, 1264, 1265, 1266, 1267, 1268, 1269, 1270, 1271, 1272, 1273, 1274, 1275, 1276, 1277 or 1278 amino acids.

7. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein the C-terminal deletion comprises a deletion of 9, 13, 19, 21 or 23 amino acids.

8. The VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein:

a) the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector is rVSVΔG-SARS-CoV-2 clone MB2 (SEQ ID NO: 154); or

b) the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector comprises nucleic acids encoding

i) VSV L protein (SEQ ID NO: 152);

ii) VSV N protein (SEQ ID NO: 155);

iii) VSV P protein (SEQ ID NO: 156);

iv) VSV M protein (SEQ ID NO: 157); and

v) immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein (SEQ ID NO: 158).

9. The recombinant VSV particle of claim 2 , wherein the particle comprises VSV and SARS-CoV-2 proteins from MB2 comprising:

a) VSV L protein (SEQ ID NO: 152);

b) VSV N protein (SEQ ID NO: 155);

c) VSV P protein (SEQ ID NO: 156);

d) VSV M protein (SEQ ID NO: 157); and

e) immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein (SEQ ID NO: 158).

10. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein:

a) the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector is rVSVΔG-SARS-CoV-2 clone MB1 (SEQ ID NO: 150); or

b) the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector comprises nucleic acids encoding

i) VSV L protein (SEQ ID NO: 152);

ii) VSV N protein (SEQ ID NO: 155);

iii) VSV P protein (SEQ ID NO: 156);

iv) VSV M protein (SEQ ID NO: 151); and

v) immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein (SEQ ID NO: 153).

11. The recombinant VSV particle of claim 2 , wherein the particle comprises VSV and SARS-CoV-2 proteins from MB1 comprising:

a) VSV L protein (SEQ ID NO: 152);

b) VSV N protein (SEQ ID NO: 155);

c) VSV P protein (SEQ ID NO: 156);

d) VSV M protein (SEQ ID NO: 151); and

e) immunogenic variant of the SARS-CoV-2 S protein (SEQ ID NO: 153).

12. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein the VSV-M protein comprises a Y61S mutation relative to SEQ ID NO: 157.

13. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine of claim 5 , wherein the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is formulated for oral administration.

14. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine of claim 5 , wherein the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is formulated for intranasal administration.

15. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine of claim 5 , wherein the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is formulated for oral mucosal administration and intranasal administration.

16. An isolated recombinant cell comprising the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 .

17. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector of claim 1 , wherein the portion of VSV-G gene remains in the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector and the portion of the VSV-G gene remaining only encodes a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail, a VSV-G protein transmembrane domain, or a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane domain.

18. The replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV particle of claim 3 , wherein the portion of VSV-G gene remains in the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV particle and the portion of the VSV-G remaining only encodes a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail, a VSV-G protein transmembrane domain, or a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane domain.

19. The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine of claim 5 , wherein the portion of VSV-G gene remains in the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector and the portion of the VSV-G remaining only encodes a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail, a VSV-G protein transmembrane domain, or a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane domain.

20. The isolated recombinant cell of claim 16 , wherein the portion of VSV-G gene remains in the replication-competent attenuated chimeric VSV vector and the portion of the VSV-G remaining only encodes a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail, a VSV-G protein transmembrane domain, or a VSV-G protein cytoplasmic tail and transmembrane domain.

Assignments (4)
MERGER Recorded Jul 1, 2024
From: MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP.
To: MERCK SHARP & DOHME LLC
Reel/Frame 067883/0156 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 21, 2022
From: PARKS, CHRISTOPHER LEE; YUAN, MAOLI
To: INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE INC.
Reel/Frame 059671/0404 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 21, 2022
From: FEINBERG, MARK
To: INTERNATIONAL AIDS VACCINE INITIATIVE INC.
Reel/Frame 059671/0415 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 21, 2022
From: ESPESETH, AMY; BETT, ANDREW J.
To: MERCK SHARP & DOHME CORP.
Reel/Frame 059671/0423 →
Continuity (6)
Provisional Application 63143522 · Jan 29, 2021
Provisional Application 63079944 · Sep 17, 2020
Provisional Application 63005717 · Apr 6, 2020
Provisional Application 62989128 · Mar 13, 2020
Provisional Application 62979949 · Feb 21, 2020
Related Publication 20210338804A1 · Nov 4, 2021
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