CVR - Coronavirus Vaccines R&D Roadmap

Milestone
3.2.h

Adjuvant use

In progress

Determine if any adjuvants can improve vaccine efficacy, breadth, or durability for SARS-CoV-2 variants and other coronaviruses without compromising safety.

Progress Highlights

Several studies have determined that a combination of aluminum hydroxide and CpG adjuvants resulted in a more robust immune response compared to using either adjuvant alone in preclinical studies of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Multiple studies comparing Alhydrogel and Adjuphos adjuvants in SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have determined that Adjuphos resulted in better immunogenicity and T-cell responses in mice.

Wang 2026 Found that Montanide ISA720 produced higher S1, S2, and neutralizing antibody responses than Alum in golden Syrian hamsters.

Song 2026 found that truncated variant Salmonella flagellin produced robust mucosal and systemic immunity to SARS-CoV-2 in a VLP vaccine.

Hu 2025 found that Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) can enhance systemic (IgG1) and mucosal (IgA) antibody responses, across variants, when co-administered with a SARS-CoV-2 subunit vaccine. Most augmentative when administered with intranasal vaccines. Promotes dendritic cell activation and migration. Enhances generation of Tfh cells and germinal center memory B cells.

Mucosal vaccine candidates targeting SARS-CoV-2 and MERS have concluded that the addition of human beta-defensin 2 enhanced efficacy in animal models.