Open Philanthropy recommended a grant of $3,464,862 over three years to the University of Amsterdam to support the design and preclinical testing of two vaccine candidates for hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Roughly 100 million people are living with chronic HCV infection, and roughly 500,000 people die annually from HCV-related causes; an effective preventative vaccine for HCV would be extremely impactful.
The project will be led by Kwinten Sliepen, Rogier Sanders, and Janke Schinkel. During their research, the team will employ recent advances in synthetic protein development via machine learning. They will design virus-like particles (VLPs) that present selected structural features of HCV to the immune system. The VLPs will be tested for efficacy as components of both protein and mRNA vaccines.
This grant also included funding for the University of Washington, which is collaborating on the project. It falls within Open Philanthropy’s focus area of scientific research, specifically within its interest in advancing human health and wellbeing.