The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a two-year, $423,500 grant to Colleen Jonsson, PhD, director of the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, for an innovative project that could lead to a novel treatment for a viral infection that spreads in both humans and animals.
The project, called “The Ferret as a Model for Evaluation of Antiviral Efficacy Against Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV),” received an R21 grant, which is a grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support exploratory and high-risk research projects with transformative potential. These early-phase grants are designed to help researchers gather critical preliminary data for novel scientific approaches that could open new directions in biomedical research.
VEEV is a mosquito-borne virus that has caused multiple outbreaks in humans and horses in Latin America. In addition to its natural transmission route, VEEV also poses a bioterrorism concern due to its ability to be spread through the air. Currently, few effective treatments or preventive options exist for VEEV. One major barrier to developing new antivirals is the lack of reliable animal models that accurately mimic the disease in humans.
Dr. Jonsson and her team aim to evaluate the ferret as a preclinical model for VEEV infection via the intranasal route, mirroring how the virus might be spread in aerosol form. The project will test both the disease process and the performance of a promising antiviral drug candidate, BDGR-354, which has already shown 100% protection in mice when administered orally.
While other small animal models like hamsters and cotton rats exist, they do not sufficiently replicate how VEEV affects humans. On the other hand, nonhuman primates offer better data but are costly and difficult to access. The ferret, already accepted by the FDA for flu research, could fill a critical gap.
“If successful, this work will establish the ferret as a powerful model for testing therapies against neurotropic alphaviruses like VEEV,” Dr. Jonsson said. “It would allow the scientific community to move more quickly and efficiently in developing treatments for these rare but potentially devastating infections.”
The research will focus on characterizing disease progression in ferrets exposed to VEEV via the nose, using the INH strain, a reference virus proposed for use in vaccine and drug development. The project will also evaluate BDGR-354’s safety and effectiveness in preventing or treating VEEV in ferrets, which will support preclinical data requirements under the FDA’s Animal Rule regulatory pathway.
“Even if BDGR-354 does not advance, the data from this study will inform future efforts to develop antiviral strategies against VEEV and related neurotropic viruses,” Dr. Jonsson said.