# Recombinant BCG-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine

> **NIH NIH R21** · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $411,968

## Abstract

Summary
The scale of the humanitarian and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic places a high priority on the
development of prophylactic and therapeutic countermeasures to better control SARS-CoV-2 infections. Among
the priorities listed in the NIAID Strategic Plan for COVID-19 research is the need to pursue multiple strategies
to develop a COVID-19 vaccine efficacious across the lifespan, including in the elderly.
Recent epidemiologic studies have highlighted the potential for Mycobacterium bovis BCG (the only approved
vaccine for TB prevention) to mitigate through non-specific immunity the prevalence and severity of the
symptoms of COVID-19. Indeed, BCG vaccination has been known since the 1960s to non-specifically improve
immunity against a number of viral pathogens resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality in neonates, children
and the elderly. Other unique attributes of BCG that make it a vaccine platform of choice for the recombinant
expression of heterologous antigens include the fact that it can produce long-lasting CD4+ and CD8+ T cell
responses, its natural adjuvant properties, its remarkable safety record (> 5 billion doses given to date) and the
fact that it is easy and inexpensive to mass-produce.
The goal of this project is to leverage ongoing COVID-19 research efforts at Colorado State University to
generate recombinant BCG (rBCG) strains expressing SARS-CoV-2 immunogens (Aim 1) and to assess the
immunogenicity and protective efficacy of rBCG in an established animal challenge model of SARS-CoV-2
infection (Aim 2).
We hypothesize that the induction of non-specific immunity against SARS-CoV-2 combined with the adaptive
immune responses elicited by the recombinant expression of validated SARS-CoV-2 antigens will yield rBCG-
based COVID-19 vaccines conferring long-lasting protective immunity in people of all ages. Success in this
approach could rapidly deliver an inexpensive, safe and globally deployable vaccine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10171055
- **Project number:** 1R21AI158056-01
- **Recipient organization:** COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Mary Jackson
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $411,968
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10171055

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10171055, Recombinant BCG-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (1R21AI158056-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10171055. Licensed CC0.

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