Codiak researchers will work with Ragon Institute scientists to build integrated exosome-based vaccines with the ability to induce broad neutralizing antibody and antigen-specific T-cell production against viruses.

ExoVacc is Codiak's modular vaccine system that uses the unique properties of exosomes to deliver antigens and adjuvants simultaneously and selectively to the same antigen-presenting cells to create innate, cellular, and antibody-mediated immune responses. Codiak uses its engineering platform to incorporate multiple factors into a single exosome.

Ragon Institute researchers will provide Codiak with computational methods that integrate network theory and structure information to predict T-cell epitopes for use in antigen-specific vaccines. Subsequently, Codiak will generate combinatorial vaccine candidates and evaluate them for specificity and potency. If successful, the candidates will be tested in animal models.

The work is in part funded by an Evergrande COVID-19 Response Fund Award, which was awarded to Codiak and the Ragon Institute by the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness.