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Background: Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019, viral variants with greater transmissibility or immune-evasion properties have arisen, which could jeopardize recently deployed vaccine- and antibody-based countermeasures., Methods: Here, we evaluated in mice and hamsters the efficacy of a pre-clinical version of the Moderna mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1273) and the Johnson & Johnson recombinant adenoviral-vectored vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S) against the B.1.621 (Mu) variant of SARS-CoV-2, which contains spike mutations T95I, Y144S, Y145N, R346K, E484K, N501Y, D614G, P681H, and D950N., Findings: Immunization of 129S2 and K18-human ACE2 transgenic mice with the mRNA-1273 vaccine protected against weight loss, lung infection, and lung pathology after challenge with the B.1.621 or WA1/2020 N501Y/D614G SARS-CoV-2 strain. Similarly, immunization of 129S2 mice and Syrian hamsters with a high dose of Ad26.COV2.S reduced lung infection after B.1.621 virus challenge., Conclusions: Thus, immunity induced by the mRNA-1273 or Ad26.COV2.S vaccine can protect against the B.1.621 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in multiple animal models., Funding: This study was supported by the NIH (R01 AI157155 and U01 AI151810), NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response [CEIRR] contracts 75N93021C00014 and 75N93021C00016, and the Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers [CIVIC] contract 75N93019C00051. It was also supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis (HHSN272201400008C) and the Japan Program for Infectious Diseases Research and Infrastructure (JP21wm0125002) from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The A.C.M.B. laboratory has received unrelated funding support in sponsored research agreements from AI Therapeutics, GreenLight Biosciences, Inc., and Nano Targeting & Therapy Biopharma, Inc. The A.C.M.B. laboratory has received funding support from AbbVie, Inc., for the commercial development of SARS-CoV-2 mAbs. M.S.D. is a consultant for Inbios, Vir Biotechnology, Senda Biosciences, and Carnival Corporation and is on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Moderna and Immunome. The M.S.D. laboratory has received unrelated funding support in sponsored research agreements from Vir Biotechnology, Kaleido, and Emergent BioSolutions and past support from Moderna not related to these studies. S.M.E. and D.K.E. are employees of and shareholders in Moderna, Inc., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Human monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatments are promising for COVID-19 prevention or therapy. The pre-exposure prophylactic efficacy of neutralizing antibodies that are engineered with mutations to extend their persistence in human serum and the neutralizing antibody titer in serum required for protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection remain poorly characterized., Methods: The Fc region of two neutralizing mAbs (COV2-2130 and COV2-2381) targeting non-overlapping epitopes on the receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein was engineered to extend their persistence in humans and reduce interactions with Fc gamma receptors. We assessed protection by individual antibodies or a combination of the two antibodies (designated ADM03820) given prophylactically by an intravenous or intramuscular route in a non-human primate (NHP) model of SARS-CoV-2 infection., Findings: Passive transfer of individual mAbs or ADM03820 conferred virological protection in the NHP respiratory tract in a dose-dependent manner, and ADM03820 potently neutralized SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in vitro . We defined a protective serum-neutralizing antibody titer and concentration in NHPs for passively transferred human antibodies that acted by direct viral neutralization., Conclusions: In summary, we demonstrate that neutralizing antibodies with extended half-life and lacking Fc-mediated effector functions are efficient for pre-exposure prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in NHPs. These results support clinical development of ADM03820 for COVID-19 prevention., Funding: This research was supported by a contract from the JPEO-CBRND (W911QY-20-9-003, 20-05); the Joint Sciences and Technology Office and Joint Program Executive Office (MCDC-16-01-002 JSTO, JPEO); a DARPA grant (HR0011-18-2-0001); an NIH grant (R01 AI157155); and the 2019 Future Insight Prize from Merck KGaA., Competing Interests: R.R.C., R.V.H., D.M.S., M.H., B.H., L.C., G.H.N., M.T.T., and K.H. are employees of Ology Bioservices. C.G.E. and N.M.D. are employees of the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense for the US Department of Defense (JPEO-CBRND). S.A.H. is an employee of Logistics Management Institute (LMI), performing technical contract support for JPEO-CBRND. J.E.C. has served as a consultant for Luna Innovations, is a member of the scientific advisory board of Meissa Vaccines, and is founder of IDBiologics. The Crowe laboratory at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received sponsored research agreements from Takeda, IDBiologics, and AstraZeneca. Vanderbilt University has applied for patents related to antibodies studied in this paper. M.S.D. is a consultant for InBios, Vir Biotechnology, Senda Biosciences, and Carnival Corporation and is on the scientific advisory boards of Moderna and Immunome. The laboratory of M.S.D. has received funding support in sponsored research agreements from Moderna, Vir Biotechnology, Kaleido, and Emergent BioSolutions., (© 2022 Elsevier Inc.)

Background: Although vaccines effectively prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in healthy individuals, they appear to be less immunogenic in individuals with chronic inflammatory disease (CID) or receiving chronic immunosuppression therapy., Methods: Here we assessed a cohort of 77 individuals with CID treated as monotherapy with chronic immunosuppressive drugs for antibody responses in serum against historical and variant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) viruses after immunization with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine., Findings: Longitudinal analysis showed the greatest reductions in neutralizing antibodies and Fc effector function capacity in individuals treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors (TNFi), and this pattern appeared to be worse against the B.1.617.2 delta virus. Within 5 months of vaccination, serum neutralizing titers of all TNFi-treated individuals tested fell below the presumed threshold correlate for antibody-mediated protection. However, TNFi-treated individuals receiving a third mRNA vaccine dose boosted their serum neutralizing antibody titers by more than 16-fold., Conclusions: Vaccine boosting or administration of long-acting prophylaxis ( e.g ., monoclonal antibodies) will likely be required to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection in this susceptible population., Funding: This study was supported by grants and contracts from the NIH (R01 AI157155, R01AI151178, and HHSN75N93019C00074; NIAID Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) contracts HHSN272201400008C and 75N93021C00014; and Collaborative Influenza Vaccine Innovation Centers [CIVIC] contract 75N93019C00051)., Competing Interests: M.S.D. is a consultant for Inbios, Vir Biotechnology, Senda Biosciences, and Carnival Corporation and on the Scientific Advisory Boards of Moderna and Immunome. The Diamond laboratory has received unrelated funding support in sponsored research agreements from Vir Biotechnology, Moderna, and Emergent BioSolutions. F.K. is a coinventor on a patent application for serological assays and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (international application numbers PCT/US2021/31110 and 62/994,252). A.H.J.K. participated in consulting, advisory board, or speaker’s bureau for Alexion Pharmaceuticals; Aurinia Pharmaceuticals; Exagen Diagnostics, Inc.; and GlaxoSmithKline and received unrelated funding support under a sponsored research agreement from GlaxoSmithKline. The Ellebedy laboratory received funding under sponsored research agreements that are unrelated to current study from Emergent BioSolutions and AbbVie. A.H.E. is a consultant for Mubadala Investment Company and the founder of ImmuneBio Consulting LLC. A.H.E., M.S.D., and J.S.T. are recipients of a licensing agreement with Abbvie Inc. for commercial development of a SARS-CoV-2 mAb not described in this study. J.S.T. is a consultant for Gerson Lehrman Group. S.C. received research funding from Biogen and received speaking and/or consulting fees from Biogen, Novartis, Sanofi Genzyme, Genentech, and Bristol Myers Squibb. P.D. has participated in consulting, advisory board, or speaker’s bureau for Janssen, Pfizer, Prometheus Biosciences, Boehringer Ingelheim, AbbVie, and Arena Pharmaceuticals and received funding under an unrelated sponsored research agreement from Takeda Pharmaceutical, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb-Celgene, and Boehringer Ingelheim. G.F.W. has received honoraria for consulting from Novartis and Genentech, Inc. and research funding from Biogen, EMD Serono, and Roche. F.K. has consulted for Merck, Curevac, and Pfizer in the past and is currently consulting for Pfizer, Seqirus, and Avimex. The Krammer laboratory is collaborating with Pfizer on animal models of SARS-CoV-2. G.A. is the founder of SeromYx Systems Inc. and an equity holder of Leyden Labs., (© 2021 Elsevier Inc.)