Vaccine Efficacy Testing
Virax Biolabs is committed to advancing vaccine development by providing essential support, using cutting-edge techniques and ensuring long-lasting immunity for more effective vaccines.
Why Vaccine Efficacy Testing Matters
Virax Biolabs are dedicated to driving greater innovations in vaccine development by providing essential support to the pharmaceutical industry. Our state-of-the-art techniques and expertise allow us to precisely measure the activation, expansion, and persistence of memory T cells after vaccination. These insights provide crucial data to support vaccine development, ensuring that immunizations are not only effective in the short term but also capable of providing durable, long-lasting immunity.
Investigating T cell Immunity
Following vaccination, the immune system generates a primary immune response, which includes the production of antibodies specific to the target pathogen. These antibodies are effective at neutralizing the pathogen, but their levels typically decline over time once the immediate threat is absent.
In contrast, memory T cells form a long-lasting immunological memory. Although antibody levels wane, memory T cells persist in the body for years and their presence ensures that the immune system responds more effectively upon re-exposure to the antigen.
Our assays directly quantify these memory T-cell populations, allowing a precise evaluation of vaccine durability over the years.
Our platform technology enables us to work on any vaccine, whether old or new, by custom-producing peptide pools tailored to stimulate T cells specific to any pathogen.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help you accelerate your vaccine research.
How We Measure Long-Term Immunity:
ELISpot and FluoroSpot
ELISpot and FluoroSpot assays are highly sensitive immunoassays that are widely used in vaccine research, both in preclinical studies and clinical trials. These assays provide superior sensitivity, quantitative output, and the ability to handle both individual tests and large-scale screenings, making them essential tools for evaluating vaccine efficacy and immune responses.
ELISpot
ELISpot assays are particularly useful for detecting vaccine-specific T cells and B cells. To assess memory T cell responses, vaccine-derived peptides can be used to stimulate antigen-specific T cells to produce cytokines.
Each cytokine-secreting cell forms a distinct “spot” at the site of secretion, where the enzyme has catalysed the substrate reaction. The spots are counted and analysed: each spot represents a single cytokine producing cell, allowing the number of cytokine-secreting cells to be quantified.
By analysing these responses, the efficacy of a vaccine can be assessed, and the T cell responses that contribute to both cell-mediated immunity and antibody production characterized.
FluoroSpot
FluoroSpot assays are based around the same principles as ELISpot assays, but allow for the simultaneous measurement of multiple cytokines or analytes, enabling the analysis of polyfunctional T cell responses.
FluoroSpot assays use fluorophore-labelled detection antibodies, with a different fluorophore used to identify each cytokine of interest. This allows the detection of multiple cytokines per well, with each coloured spot corresponding to an individual T cell that responded to the peptide stimulation by producing the cytokine of interest, enabling the number of activated T cells to be quantified.
ELISpot
Each cytokine-secreting cell forms a distinct “spot” at the site of secretion, where the enzyme has catalysed the substrate reaction. The spots are counted and analysed: each spot represents a single cytokine producing cell, allowing the number of cytokine-secreting cells to be quantified.
By analysing these responses, the efficacy of a vaccine can be assessed, and the T cell responses that contribute to both cell-mediated immunity and antibody production characterized.
FluoroSpot
FluoroSpot assays use fluorophore-labelled detection antibodies, with a different fluorophore used to identify each cytokine of interest. This allows the detection of multiple cytokines per well, with each coloured spot corresponding to an individual T cell that responded to the peptide stimulation by producing the cytokine of interest, enabling the number of activated T cells to be quantified.
Applications Across Disease Areas
ELISpot and FluoroSpot assays have become central to the development of vaccines for a wide range of diseases, with their ability to measure responses to both viral and bacterial antigens making them suitable for a wide array of vaccine types.
In viral vaccine development, including for COVID-19, influenza, and HIV, these assays have been used to assess long-term immunity and T cell cross-reactivity. While for cancer vaccines, ELISpot is used to monitor tumour-specific T cell responses, with FluoroSpot used to analyse multifunctional T cell activity.
COVID-19
Used to evaluate mRNA vaccines and measure T cell responses, including cross-reactivity to new variants like Omicron.
Influenza
Utilized for monitoring the memory immune responses to seasonal flu vaccines with greater sensitivity than serological assays.
Tuberculosis
Used to measure antigen-specific T cell responses of new TB vaccine candidates and BCG boosters.
HIV
Crucial in mapping HIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses, and tracking the efficacy of DNA prime-protein boost vaccines.
Malaria
Used to evaluate the immune response to various malaria antigens, such as CSP, LSA1, and MSP1.
Cancer
Vital for identifying and quantifying tumour-specific T cell populations in oncology vaccines (e.g. breast cancer, HPV).
Partner With Us
ELISpot
Custom ELISpot assays for measuring antigen-specific cytokine secretion, T cell activation, and immune response profiling.
FluoroSpot
Custom FluoroSpot assays to simultaneously measure different cytokines, for more detailed immune profiling and a broader analysis of immune responses.
Flow Cytometry Services
Tailored flow cytometry assays for analysing immune cell populations, cell-based immunophenotyping, and immunogenicity evaluation.
ELISA Services
ELISA testing services for antigen-specific antibody titres, immune response quantification, and serum neutralization analysis
At Virax Biolabs, we’re more than just a service provider – as your dedicated partner, we are committed to accelerating the path to more effective vaccines to create lasting, impactful change in global health.
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TO DISCUSS YOUR VACCINE TESTING NEEDS
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