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NPJ Vaccines
. 2026 Jan 13;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w. Strong and early immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and rhesus macaques after BNT162b3 vaccination
Annette B Vogel 1 , Bonny G Lui 2 , Kristin Tompkins 3 , Isis Kanevsky 3 , Alexander Muik 2 , Stefanie A Krumm 2 , Alptekin Güler 2 , Mohan S Maddur 3 , Kerstin C Walzer 2 , Sonja Witzel 2 4 , Fulvia Vascotto 4 , Eliana Stanganello 4 , Ayuko Ota-Setlik 3 , Kimberly J Cottingham 3 , Omaira Allbritton 3 , Jessica Keverne 2 , Letícia Aragão-Santiago 2 , Kena A Swanson 3 , Özlem Türeci 2 5 , Uğur Şahin 6 7
Affiliations
We preclinically characterize BNT162b3, a nucleoside-modified mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine encoding a trimerized, cell surface-tethered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon), formulated in lipid nanoparticles. Intramuscular immunization with BNT162b3 induced high antigen-specific antibody titers with early seroconversion kinetics in mice and rhesus macaques. One dose of BNT162b3 induced high neutralizing antibody titers against pseudoviruses harboring the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and early variants of concern up to Delta, but lower titers against Omicron, the phylogenetically more distant variant. In mice, a second immunization boosted Omicron neutralizing antibody titers to levels comparable to those of other tested variants. The cellular immune response was T helper 1 cell driven. The cell surface-tethered RBD-foldon was more immunogenic than its soluble counterpart. This study demonstrated the suitability of BNT162b3 as COVID-19 vaccine and supported its evaluation in a phase I/II clinical trial (BNT162-04, NCT04537949).
. 2026 Jan 13;11(1):10.
doi: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w. Strong and early immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in mice and rhesus macaques after BNT162b3 vaccination
Annette B Vogel 1 , Bonny G Lui 2 , Kristin Tompkins 3 , Isis Kanevsky 3 , Alexander Muik 2 , Stefanie A Krumm 2 , Alptekin Güler 2 , Mohan S Maddur 3 , Kerstin C Walzer 2 , Sonja Witzel 2 4 , Fulvia Vascotto 4 , Eliana Stanganello 4 , Ayuko Ota-Setlik 3 , Kimberly J Cottingham 3 , Omaira Allbritton 3 , Jessica Keverne 2 , Letícia Aragão-Santiago 2 , Kena A Swanson 3 , Özlem Türeci 2 5 , Uğur Şahin 6 7
Affiliations
- PMID: 41530185
- DOI: 10.1038/s41541-025-01365-w
We preclinically characterize BNT162b3, a nucleoside-modified mRNA-based coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine encoding a trimerized, cell surface-tethered severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike receptor-binding domain (RBD-foldon), formulated in lipid nanoparticles. Intramuscular immunization with BNT162b3 induced high antigen-specific antibody titers with early seroconversion kinetics in mice and rhesus macaques. One dose of BNT162b3 induced high neutralizing antibody titers against pseudoviruses harboring the spike of the SARS-CoV-2 Wuhan-Hu-1 strain and early variants of concern up to Delta, but lower titers against Omicron, the phylogenetically more distant variant. In mice, a second immunization boosted Omicron neutralizing antibody titers to levels comparable to those of other tested variants. The cellular immune response was T helper 1 cell driven. The cell surface-tethered RBD-foldon was more immunogenic than its soluble counterpart. This study demonstrated the suitability of BNT162b3 as COVID-19 vaccine and supported its evaluation in a phase I/II clinical trial (BNT162-04, NCT04537949).