Meissa Vaccines has been awarded a Fast Track SBIR grant by the National Institutes of Health entitled "Development of live attenuated respiratory syncytial virus vaccines with novel thermal stable fusion protein" with a total value of $1.56m. It will fund activities needed to file an investigational new drug (IND) application with the FDA for Meissa's lead product candidate, a vaccine to prevent RSV disease in infants. INDs are required to initiate clinical trials. Activities covered by the grant include pharmacology studies and the generation of virus seed stocks to support production of clinical trial material.
“Meissa's live attenuated RSV vaccine MV-012-968 is attenuated by down regulation of RSV virulence genes using codon-deoptimization, and this vaccine strain also expresses a propriety fusion protein with enhanced pre-fusion meta-stability. These unique characteristics are specifically designed to make a safe and highly immunogenic live RSV vaccine suitable for immunizing RSV naïve infants, the population most vulnerable to severe RSV disease and in need of a vaccine. Dr. Roderick Tang, Meissa's CSO and Principal Investigator on the grant said, "Advancing this promising RSV vaccine candidate towards the clinic is a priority for Meissa. We are very grateful to NIH/NIAID for this award, which will accelerate entry of MV-012-968 into human trials."