Development of novel combination adjuvants

Project Team: George Mutwiri, Sylvia van den Hurk, Volker Gerdts, Heather L. Wilson

Adjuvants are often used to modify or augment the effect of the antigen in vaccine formulations. Adjuvants function by stimulating the immune system to elicit better and more vigorous responses to the antigen, and can be used to protect the antigen from untimely degradation, premature release or clearance.

A limited number of adjuvants are licensed and available for use in vaccines. We have focused on developing novel adjuvants for use in human and animal vaccines, including combination adjuvants. Research is targeted at screening novel compounds, understanding mechanism of action, and evaluating the use in human and animal vaccine candidates.