Safety and immunogenicity of adenovirus-vectored nasal and epicutaneous influenza vaccines in humans

The increasing number and density of the human population, the emergence of lethal influenza strains, and the potential use of designer influenza virus as a bioweapon, collectively highlight a critical need for more rapid production of influenza vaccines and less invasive means of delivery. We have developed a nonreplicative adenovirus-vectored influenza vaccine that can be produced without the prerequisite of growing influenza virus. This new class of vaccines can be administered as a nasal spray or skin patch by personnel without medical training. We report here that adenovirus-vectored nasal and epicutaneous influenza vaccines were well tolerated by human volunteers. The nasal vaccine. was more potent than its epicutaneous counterpart under the adjuvant-free experimental condition. These results pro-tide the foundation for further human testing of needleless vectored vaccines as promising alternatives to current vaccines. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.