# Preclinical development of a vaccine for Nipah virus

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2021 · $1,415,990

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Nipah virus (NiV) causes febrile encephalitis and severe respiratory disease in humans with fatality rates as high
as 100% in some outbreaks (average ~ 75% for outbreaks over the last decade). There are currently no licensed
vaccines or therapies for combating NiV disease. NiV is classified as a Biosafety Level (BSL)-4 pathogen
because of the high mortality rates associated with infection, the lack of effective medical countermeasures, and
the ease of transmission. In addition to causing morbidity and mortality as a naturally acquired infection, NiV is
also categorized as a Category C priority pathogen by several US Government agencies because of the concern
for deliberate misuse. Importantly, NiV was recently included on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2018
List of Priority Pathogens. As a result of the unprecedented global pandemic of COVID-19 there is heightened
concern and awareness regarding respiratory pathogens. Consequently, in March of 2020 the US CDC
recommended that NiV be added to the list of Tier 1 Select Agents. Studies to develop effective countermeasures
have been hampered by the highly pathogenic nature of NiV and its restriction to BSL-4 containment. An effective
prophylactic vaccine would find application with medical personnel and close contacts during outbreaks and with
laboratory workers engaged in research. A vaccine based on recombinant G protein deleted (ΔG) vesicular
stomatitis virus (rVSVΔG) pseudotyped with the glycoproteins (GP) of a number of high consequence viruses
have been shown to completely protect nonhuman primates (NHP) against Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa viruses.
In addition, the effectiveness of a rVSV-vectored vaccine in preventing Ebola virus disease was demonstrated
in a ring vaccination, open-label, cluster-randomised trial in Guinea during the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic. This
vaccine was recently licensed as ERVEBO by the European Union and US FDA. Recently, we developed
replication-restricted rVSV NiV vaccine vectors expressing the NiV glycoproteins. Importantly, we showed that
these vaccines can completely protect NHPs against high dose lethal NiV Bangladesh strain challenge when
used as single injection vaccines. This new data is critically important in the context of containing outbreaks as
the most effective vaccine in containing a respiratory pathogen and preventing a pandemic is a vaccine that
works rapidly with a single administration. Development of a replication restricted platform that provides improved
safety without compromising efficacy is a highly significant advancement and can be applied to other viruses
with pandemic potential. The main objective of this proposal is to develop a rVSV-based vaccine against NiV
(rVSV-NiVBG) that can provide both rapid protection and long term immunity against the most prevalent and
pathogenic Bangladesh strain of NiV and to identify biomarkers that can be used to predict protection. In regard
to product development, work will al...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10214949
- **Project number:** 1R01AI160226-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas William Geisbert
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,415,990
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-11 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10214949

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10214949, Preclinical development of a vaccine for Nipah virus (1R01AI160226-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10214949. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*