Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (RQ3013) given as the fourth booster following three doses of inactivated vaccines: a double-blinded, randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial

Xiaoqiang Liu; Zhonghan Sun; Zhongfang Wang; Jingjing Chen; Qianhui Wu; Yan Zheng; Xiaoyun Yang; Luhui Mo; Xuemei Yan; Wei Li; Yanxiang Zou; Huiling Song; Feng Qian; Jing Lu; Hui Zhou; Yaping Wang; Zuoyun Xiang; Hongjie Yu; Jinzhong Lin; Lin Yuan; Yan Zheng

doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102231

Safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (RQ3013) given as the fourth booster following three doses of inactivated vaccines: a double-blinded, randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial

EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Sep 21:64:102231. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102231. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Xiaoqiang Liu¹, Zhonghan Sun^{2

3}, Zhongfang Wang⁴, Jingjing Chen⁵, Qianhui Wu⁶, Yan Zheng¹, Xiaoyun Yang⁴, Luhui Mo¹, Xuemei Yan⁵, Wei Li⁵, Yanxiang Zou¹, Huiling Song^{2

3}, Feng Qian^{2

3}, Jing Lu⁷, Hui Zhou⁷, Yaping Wang⁷, Zuoyun Xiang⁵, Hongjie Yu⁶, Jinzhong Lin^{2

8

9}, Lin Yuan⁵, Yan Zheng^{2

3

9}

Affiliations

¹ Yunnan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
³ Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease & National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
⁵ Walvax Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Kunming, Yunnan, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China.
⁷ Shanghai RNACure Biopharma Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China.
⁸ Center for mRNA Translational Research, Fudan University, China.
⁹ Department of Cardiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background: Heterologous vaccine schedules have been recommended to provide superior immunity and protection against emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. We aimed to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine RQ3013 compared with adenoviral vectored vaccine Ad5-nCoV and protein subunit vaccine ZF2001 as the fourth dose in adults primed with three doses of inactivated vaccines in China.

Methods: We conducted a double-blinded, randomised, controlled, phase 3b trial among healthy Chinese adults at Lancang County, Yunnan, China. Adults who had received three doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines at least 6 months prior were randomly allocated (3:1:1) to receive heterologous boosters with RQ3013, Ad5-nCoV, or ZF2001. We assessed safety within 28 days post boost and the serum geometric mean titres (GMTs) of neutralising antibodies (NAbs) against the live SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant BA.5 on day 14 post-boost. We used Poisson regression to assess the vaccine efficacy against the first episode of virologically confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 occurring at least 7 days post boost. Subgroup analyses categorized by age and sex were also performed for safety and immunogenicity outcomes. This trial has been registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200065281) and is now complete.

Findings: Between December 12 and December 18, 2022, a total of 1382 adults were screened, and 1250 were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive one dose of RQ3013 (n = 750), Ad5-nCoV (n = 250), or ZF2001 (n = 250). Although solicited adverse reactions within 28 days post boost were more frequent in the RQ3013 group (175 [23.3%]) compared to the control groups (24 [9.6%] in both the Ad5-nCOV and ZF2001 groups, P < 0.05), incidences of Grade 3 events were low (9 [0.7%]) and comparable across three groups (P > 0.05). On day 14 post-boost, RQ3013 (GMT 69.14, 95% CI 47.90-99.81) elicited 4.8-fold and 5.6-fold higher concentrations of NAbs against BA.5 than did Ad5-nCoV (14.37, 7.78-26.56) and ZF2001 (12.21, 5.13-29.06), respectively. On day 28 post-boost, RQ3013 demonstrated a relative efficacy of 62.2% (95% CI 13.7-83.1, P = 0.02) compared to Ad5-nCoV, and of 69.0% (33.5-85.7, P = 0.002) compared to ZF2001.

Interpretation: The administrations of all the three heterologous boosters were well tolerated. The heterologous prime-boost regimen with RQ3013 elicited superior immune responses and demonstrated better protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections compared with Ad5-nCoV or ZF2001, supporting the use of RQ3013 as a booster vaccination in adults.

Funding: Yunnan Province Science and Technology Department (grant no.202302AA310047).

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; Efficacy; Immunogenicity; Phase 3 trial; Safety.