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Principal Investigator: JORGE C BLANCO
Organization: SIGMOVIR BIOSYSTEMS, INC.
Fiscal Year: 2020
Award: $476,975
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
The SARS-CoV-2 responsible for the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) outbreak represents a
major public health threat that urgently requires development of a small animal model that can be used to
test medical countermeasures. This supplement proposal is a logical extension of our parent grant,
Development a VLP Vaccine for RSV (PO: Sonnie Kim, R44 AI109926). The laboratory of the PI and
his collaborators specialize in both, developing new vaccines, vaccination strategies, and therapies to
overcome viral infection and viral-induce Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and into the
development new model of human respiratory viral infectious diseases. The cotton rats is known for their
outstanding translational value for human health and, in contrast to mice, are highly susceptible to infection
with non-adapted human viruses, including those that specifically target the respiratory tract. Cotton rats
are also notoriously difficult to work with, and SBI has the utmost experience and capabilities required to
work with these animals. We are in a position to offer our decades-long expertise in the cotton rat model to
develop fully a SARS-CoV-2 model of infection that can recapitulate Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
(ARDS) induced by SARS-CoV-2 and be used for an expedient and reliable testing of experimental
therapeutic and vaccine candidates. All resources are in place for the rapid start of work, including our in-
house colonies of two different species of inbred cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus and Sigmodon fulviventer),
We have established very strong collaboration with Bioqual Inc., a close by company with which we have
collaborated in the past for many projects, including a SBIR phase II. They will provide both, ABSL3 and
BSL3 facilities, as well as experienced personnel, and the newly isolated SARS-CoV-2 virus. With this
highly-regarded team of senior scientists recognized for the expertise in developing novel cotton rat models
and for their expertise in targeting innate immune pathways, we hypothesize that cotton rats will
recapitulate ARDS observed in recent human cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection and become a reliable small
animal model for screening newly developed vaccines and therapeutics, such as TLR4 antagonists, that will
result in a more rapid medical countermeasure.
Terms: <2019 novel coronavirus><2019-nCoV><ARDS><Acute Respiratory Distress><Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome><Adult ARDS><Adult RDS><Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome><Amphoterin Gene><Animal Model><Animal Models and Related Studies><Animals><BSL-3 facility><BSL3 facility><Binding><Blood><Blood Reticuloendothelial System><Blood Serum><COVID><COVID-19><COVID19><Chemotactic Cytokines><Chromosomal Protein, Nonhistone, HMG1 Gene><Clinical><CoV disease><Collaborations><Communicable Diseases><Cotton Rats><Da Nang Lung><Development><Disease><Disease Outbreaks><Disorder><ELISA><Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay><Experimental Therapies><HMG-1 Gene><HMG1 Gene><HMG3 Gene><HMGB1><HMGB1 gene><Health><High Mobility Group Protein 1 Gene><High-Mobility Group (Nonhistone Chromosomal) Protein 1 Gene><High-Mobility Group Box 1 Gene><Histopathology><Homolog of Drosophila TOLL><Homologous Chemotactic Cytokines><Human><Human Resources><Immune response><Immunological response><Inactivated Vaccines><Inactivated Virus Vaccine><Inbreeding><Infection><Infectious Disease Pathway><Infectious Diseases><Infectious Disorder><Intercrines><Investigational Therapies><Investigational Treatments><Killed Vaccines><Laboratories><Liver><Lung><Lung Respiratory System><Manpower><Mice><Mice Mammals><Modeling><Modern Man><Molecular Interaction><Monitor><Moths><Murine><Mus><Nasal><Nasal Passages Nose><Nonhistone Chromosomal Protein HGM1 Gene><Nose><Outbreaks><Phase><Position><Positioning Attribute><Predisposition><Preparation><Prophylactic treatment><Prophylaxis><Public Health><Pulmonary Body System><Pulmonary Organ System><Quantitative RTPCR><Quantitative Reverse Transcriptase PCR><RSV Vaccines><Research Resources><Resources><Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines><Respiratory System><Respiratory System, Nose, Nasal Passages><Respiratory Tracts><Respiratory tract structure><SARS-CoV-2><SARS-CoV2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><SBIR><SBP-1 Gene><SIS cytokines><Senior Scientist><Serologic tests><Serological Tests><Serum><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Shock Lung><Sigmodon><Small Business Innovation Research><Small Business Innovation Research Grant><Spleen><Spleen Reticuloendothelial System><Stiff lung><Sulfoglucuronyl Carbohydrate Binding Protein Gene><Susceptibility><TLR4><TLR4 gene><Testing><Therapeutic><Toll Homologue><Vaccines><Viral><Viral Diseases><Virus><Virus Diseases><Virus Replication><Work><Wuhan coronavirus><biosafety level 3 facility><chemoattractant cytokine><chemokine><corona virus disease><corona virus disease 2019><coronavirus disease><coronavirus disease 2019><cytokine><developmental><draining lymph node><efficacy testing><experience><experimental therapeutic agents><experimental therapeutics><hepatic body system><hepatic organ system><host response><human model><immunoresponse><innate immune pathways><medical countermeasure><model of animal><model of human><model organism><neutralizing antibody><new vaccines><next generation vaccines><novel><novel vaccines><parent grant><personnel><prophylactic><pulmonary><qRTPCR><regional lymph node><respiratory><screening><serology><therapeutic candidate><toll-like receptor 4><vaccination strategy><vaccine candidate><viral detection><viral infection><viral multiplication><viral replication><virus detection><virus infection><virus multiplication><virus-induced disease><wet lung>