Vaccine Info

MVA MERS-S Vaccine

Authored by
Staff
Last reviewed
June 21, 2023
Fact checked by
Robert Carlson, MD
Share

MVA-MERS-S Vaccine 2023

MVA-MERS-S (Modified Vaccinia virus Ankara) is a vaccine candidate that contains the full-length spike gene of MERS-CoV, a betacoronavirus. The vaccine is based on an attenuated virus, MVA, previously used in a smallpox eradication vaccination campaign and has now been altered to contain protein components from the MERS coronavirus. This recombinant, so-called vector-based vaccine, scientifically termed MVA-MERS-S for short, is to boost immunity against MERS coronaviruses. The MVA-MERS vaccines were produced with tPA, but either the mH5 or F11 promoter driving expression of the spike gene.

Scientists at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have conducted a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial with a vaccine against MERS. The MVA-MERS-S vaccine had a favorable safety profile without serious or severe adverse events. Homologous prime-boost immunization induced humoral and cell-mediated responses against MERS-CoV. A dose-effect relationship was demonstrated for reactogenicity but not for vaccine-induced immune responses. The data presented here support further clinical testing of MVA-MERS-S in larger cohorts to advance MERS vaccine development.

In June 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study that concluded: an ELISPOT assay for evaluating MERS-CoV-specific T-cell responses in dromedary camels. After a single modified vaccinia virus Ankara-MERS-S vaccination, seropositive camels showed increased levels of MERS-CoV‒specific T cells and antibodies, indicating the suitability of camel vaccinations in disease-endemic areas as a promising approach to control infection.

The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) jointly develops new approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases.

MVA-MERS-S Vaccine Indication

MVA-MERS-S is a vaccine candidate to prevent MERS, which causes respiratory disease. MERS is one of the WHO's priority diseases, warranting urgent research and development of countermeasures. Dromedary camels have been identified as natural animal reservoirs, with >90% MERS-CoV seroprevalence reported in Middle East countries, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

MVA MERS-S Vaccine Dosage

Participants received doses of 1 × 107 plaque-forming unit (PFU; low-dose group) or 1 × 108 PFU (high-dose group) MVA-MERS-S intramuscularly for the prime immunization. A second identical dose was administered intramuscularly as a booster immunization 28 days after the first injection.

MVA MERS-S Vaccine News

June 2023 - The U.S. CDC published Volume 29, Number 6 - MERS-CoV‒Specific T-Cell Responses in Camels after Single MVA-MERS-S Vaccination.

April 21, 2020 - Promising MERS coronavirus vaccine trial on humans – useful insights for vaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. "The results of this vaccine trial are also important and promising about the development of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus," explains Prof. Marylyn Addo, Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UKE and scientist at the DZIF. "The development of the MERS vaccine provides a basis upon which we at the DZIF can rapidly develop a vaccine against the new coronavirus."

April 20, 2020 - The Lancet published a study that found vaccination with MVA-MERS-S had a favorable safety profile without serious or severe adverse events. Vaccination with MVA-MERS-S had a favorable safety profile without serious or severe adverse events. Homologous prime-boost immunization induced humoral and cell-mediated responses against MERS-CoV. A dose–effect relationship was demonstrated for reactogenicity but not vaccine-induced immune responses. 

October 3, 2013 - MERS Coronavirus Spike Protein Delivered by Modified Vaccinia Virus Ankara Efficiently Induces Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies.

MVA MERS-S Vaccine Clinical Trials

Clinical Trial NCT04119440: Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Phase Ib Study to Assess the Safety and Immunogenicity of MVA-MERS-S_DF-1.

Clinical Trials

No clinical trials found