Washingtoner - HDT Bio Publishes Peer-Reviewed Article Describing the Development of an RNA Vaccine to Prevent Infection and Disease Caused by Enterovirus D68

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* Self ~ HDT Bio Corp., a leading developer of immunotherapies for oncology and infectious diseases, has recently made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of pandemic preparedness. In a publication released today, the company has demonstrated the potential for self-amplifying RNA vaccines to be used as effective tools against non-enveloped viruses, a unique group of pathogens.

The study, led by researchers at HDT Bio in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Laboratories (NIAID/NIH), The Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine at Rutgers, and University of Chapel Hill School of Medicine, was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It focused on enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), a prototype member of non-enveloped viruses that has recently been identified as having pandemic potential by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).

Dr. Jesse Erasmus, Director of Virology at HDT Bio and senior author of the publication, explains that while RNA vaccines have revolutionized our ability to respond to pandemics in a timely manner, they have only been developed and executed for certain enveloped viruses. "Both enveloped viruses and RNA vaccines share at least one thing in common; each convert their host cells into bioreactors," says Dr. Erasmus. "In contrast, non-enveloped viruses depend on complex processes to release their progeny from infected cells, making it less straightforward to use RNA messages to release vaccine antigens."

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The researchers characterized the antigenic landscape of EV-D68 variants to inform vaccine composition requirements related to circulating strains. They also demonstrated robust neutralizing antibody responses after vaccination using HDT Bio's self-amplifying repRNA/LION™ technology.

One significant finding from the study was that HDT's vaccine formulated with LION™ was able to control virus in both the nose and lungs when delivered into the muscle. This is a significant improvement compared to conventional lipid nanoparticle technology, which has been shown to have poor ability in protecting the upper respiratory tract and reducing transmission of respiratory viruses like COVID-19. "Mucosal vaccination by spraying vaccine in the nose or delivery to other mucosal surfaces is thought to be required for protection of those surfaces," says Dr. Nikki Warner, first author of the publication. "So this is a significant finding, especially if replicated in larger animal models or in humans."

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This latest publication adds to HDT Bio's previous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of their self-amplifying repRNA/LION™ technology in controlling the virus that causes COVID-19 in both hamsters and nonhuman primates.

The study has been published on the Science Translational Medicine website and can also be found on the Publications page of HDT Bio's website. More information, including a copy of the paper, can be found online at the Science Translational Medicine press package at https://www.eurekalert.org/press/medpak/. With this groundbreaking discovery, HDT Bio Corp. is paving the way for more effective pandemic preparedness against non-enveloped viruses.

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