Research consortium develops safe, broad-spectrum antivirals and vaccines
Virus infections debilitate, cause economic loss, and can be fatal. Moreover, viruses mutate, adapt to new hosts, may emerge to cause new epidemics, and chronic disease. Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation granted COMBATVIRUS project 1,68 million euros to establish efficient antiviral molecules that may act as safe and affordable antivirals but also as important stabilizers and immune boosters. This was one of the biggest grants the foundation awarded on spring 2024. The research consortium consists of professors Sarah Butcher (heading the consortium) from University of Helsinki, Varpu Marjomäki from Ģֱ and Adjunct professor Minna Hankaniemi from the University of Tampere.
- Working together with inspiring and excellent colleagues is enjoyable, says Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology Varpu Marjomäki from Ģֱ. The good chemistry and respect over each other is likely to produce excellent results, she continues.
Developing more effective antivirals and vaccines
The COMBATVIRUS team expect to identify bioactive compounds from fungal and plant extracts, work out the modes of action, and when appropriate, the atomic interactions with viral proteins.
- Similarly, we will work with synthetic chemists to synthesize and characterize bioactive molecules for known binding pockets in a range of pathogenic enteroviruses. We expect to develop safe and immunogenic vaccines based on virus-like particles (VLPs). Formulation of the VLPs with stabilizing compounds will produce vaccines inducing balanced cellular, mucosal, and humoral immune responses in the vaccinees, which is a requirement for stopping virus infection and disease, says Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology Varpu Marjomäki from Ģֱ.
Stabilized VLP-vaccines will be effective and can be supplied without an expensive cold-chain. Therefore, in clinical use these vaccines will have the possibility to reach global coverage and may be able to create herd-immunity.
More information:
- Professor in Cell and Molecular Biology Varpu Marjomäki, Ģֱ, +358 40 5634422, varpu.s.marjomaki@jyu.fi
- Professor Sarah Butcher, University of Helsinki, +358504155492, sarah.butcher@helsinki.fi
- Academy Research Fellow Minna Hankaniemi, University of Tampere, minna.hankaniemi@tuni.fi
- Release of the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation:
