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Driving Development of Innovative Vaccine Technologies to Improve Protection at Mucosal Surfaces
Many respiratory pathogens, including influenza viruses, initiate infection at mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract. While conventional vaccines can provide protection against severe disease, they often generate limited and short-lived immune responses at the site of infection, leaving opportunities for breakthrough infection and onward transmission.
The Mucosal Immunity Innovation (MucInn) program aims to accelerate the development of innovative vaccine technologies and candidates that enhance vaccine protection at mucosal surfaces, including the nose and airways, where many respiratory infections begin.
MucInn focuses on high-impact translational vaccine innovations with an initial focus on pre-clinical development, aiming to improve the performance, durability, and translational readiness of mucosal targeted vaccines.
MucInn seeks to develop novel vaccine technologies and formulations that:
Initial Focus: Influenza
The program’s initial focus is influenza. MucInn is designed as a force multiplier; by advancing enabling platform technologies, the program aims to establish platform capabilities that can be applied to a broad range of respiratory pathogens, to specifically enhance mucosal vaccine durability and strengthen preparedness for future outbreaks.
Development Stage
The focus is on pre-clinical development.
Aligned with BARDA’s mission to improve mucosal vaccine performance and translational readiness. m-RNA-based approaches are not considered to be in-scope for this opportunity.
Intramuscular Vaccines Have a Gap
Most respiratory disease vaccines are delivered through the intramuscular (IM) route, providing systemic protection but not at the site of pathogen entry, making them sub-optimal.
Mucosal Vaccines Offer Greater Potential
Overcoming Barriers Within the Mucosa
Targeting and eliciting mucosal immunity to better protect from respiratory pathogens
Most respiratory disease vaccines are delivered through the intramuscular (IM) route, providing systemic protection but not at the site of pathogen entry (nose, mouth and lungs), making them sub-optimal. Because the natural defenses that occur at these mucosal surfaces (mucosal immunity) are not strongly elicited, breakthrough infection and transmission can still occur, creating a need for more efficacious and durable mucosal vaccines.
Context and Background
The Mucosal Immunity Innovation (MucInn) program aims to accelerate the development of innovative mucosal vaccine formulations, delivery technologies, adjuvants, and enabling platforms that enhance vaccine protection at mucosal surfaces where many respiratory infections begin.
As part of BARDA DRIVe’s MucInn Program, this funding opportunity focuses on preclinical vaccine candidate development that can overcome fundamental biological and engineering barriers limiting effective mucosal vaccination and will advance technologies towards clinical development.
BARDA and VITAL seek innovative mucosal vaccine approaches for influenza. The program will support preclinical evaluation of vaccine technologies focused on eliciting a robust, durable, and protective mucosal and systemic immune response. Proposed vaccine technologies may include innovations in: novel formulations, delivery systems, mucosal adjuvants, antigen-adjuvant codelivery, and enabling/integrated platform technologies. Although influenza is the initial use case, these platform technologies should be translatable to other respiratory pathogens.
Specifically, technologies and proposals will need to demonstrate ability to:
Next Generation Influenza Vaccines to Improve Protection at Mucosal Surfaces
Funding Guidelines and Duration
Note: mRNA-based vaccine approaches are out of scope for this funding opportunity.
MucInn encourages multidisciplinary teams.
If you or your organization would like to explore collaborations with other potential applicants, please visit our MucInn Teaming Page.
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MucInn focuses on high-impact translational vaccine technologies across four core development activities.
Novel Formulations
Protection at the primary site of infection:
Defends the body at the exact point where pathogens first enter.
MucInn is structured around four program goals.
Demonstrate ability to elicit robust, durable, and broadly protective immune responses at mucosal sites and improvement over standard of care.
