AVENGER

Advanced RNA LNP Vaccines Engineered with Next-Generation designs to Enhance pandemic Readiness

CIEBH announcement image featuring Dr. Anna Blakney and team of researchers in white lab coats at UBC
Dr. Anna Blakney and her team in the lab

AVENGER is establishing an RNA vaccine platform that will enable Canada to domestically develop and manufacture next-generation vaccines for everything from viruses to superbug bacteria to cancer.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the tremendous potential of RNA vaccines that rely on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), a drug delivery technology pioneered by UBC professor Dr. Pieter Cullis and UBC spin-off companies. Through AVENGER, Dr. Cullis and a team of CIEBH researchers will build on this legacy to establish Canada as a global leader in next-generation RNA LNP vaccines that promise to transform the health of Canadians and people around the world.

The AVENGER team is developing RNA LNP vaccine formulations that are custom designed for protecting against viral and bacterial pathogens and for treating cancer. Our team of immunologists, Drs. Ken Harder, Kelly McNagny, and Fabio Rossi, is establishing tools for understanding the immune responses to vaccine formulations and identifying formulations that induce long-lived adaptive responses. Vaccine formulations are also being tailored specifically for older and frail adults, whose immune systems can make it harder to respond to vaccines, by Drs. Shashi Gujar and Susan Howlett. Our researchers are advancing several next-generation vaccine technologies that will improve the potency, stability, and safety of RNA LNP vaccines. These include PEG-free LNP formulations developed by Dr. Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu and self-amplifying RNA, which allows for lower vaccine doses than conventional RNA while being equally safe and effective, developed by AVENGER Co-Director Dr. Anna Blakney. Dr. Eric Jan is optimizing the RNA structure for enhanced antigen production in cell types that our immunology team has determined are important for shaping the desired immune response.

AVENGER is further building out R&D capabilities for identifying and engineering antigens for bacterial pathogens. Drs. Amy Lee, James Russell, Manish Sadarangani, Natalie Strynadka, and Aneesh Thakur are focused on developing candidate vaccines for antimicrobial-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. We are also supplying our next-generation vaccine formulations to collaborators at the PRAIRIE Hub for Pandemic Preparedness, who are identifying antigens for viral pathogens of pandemic potential. Addressing social factors is key to the adoption of new vaccines, so the AVENGER team is collaborating with the Bridge Research Consortium to study issues such as vaccine hesitancy. 

In addition to these essential preclinical research activities, AVENGER is establishing a clinical research program that will bring RNA LNP vaccines to Canadian patients. AVENGER is building out domestic biomanufacturing capabilities for rapidly producing vaccines in the small volumes required to treat individual patients. We are partnering with the Advanced Therapeutics Manufacturing Facility (ATMF), a new 25,000+ square foot biomanufacturing space on UBC campus. Our first clinical program is personalized cancer vaccines, and we will be initiating a clinical trial in partnership with oncologists from BC Cancer. With the near limitless potential of RNA LNP vaccines and therapies, this will further pave the way for manufacturing drugs to treat rare diseases. 

Project directors:

Dr. Pieter Cullis (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UBC), Dr. Anna Blakney (School of Biomedical Engineering, Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC)

Team members:

  • Shashi Gujar (Dalhousie University)
  • Ken Harder (The University of British Columbia)
  • Susan Howlett (Dalhousie University)
  • Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu (The University of British Columbia)
  • Amy Lee,  (Simon Fraser University)
  • Kelly McNagny (The University of British Columbia)
  • Fabio Rossi (The University of British Columbia)
  • James Russell (The University of British Columbia)
  • Manish Sadarangani (The University of British Columbia)
  • Natalie Strynadka (The University of British Columbia)
  • Aneesh Thakur (VIDO, University of Saskatchewan)

Partners:

Collaborating programs:

Federal funding:

  • Canada Biomedical Research Fund Award: $18.65 million
  • Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund Award: $12.76 million

This initiative was undertaken thanks in part to funding from the Canada Biomedical Research Fund and the Biosciences Research Infrastructure Fund.

Read the Government of Canada announcement