Trinity team to repurpose injectable influenza vaccine into nasally delivered option

Posted on: 04 June 2026

The funding for the project, valued at approximately €650,000, was awarded by Flu Lab, a US-based organisation founded to advance innovative approaches for the prevention and treatment of influenza.

The work will be led by Trinity's Professor Ed Lavelle and Dorian Dederko, who said: “With 1 billion infections annually, seasonal influenza imposes a major global health and economic burden, and there is a great need for new and improved vaccines.”

“Currently licensed vaccines primarily generate systemic immune responses but offer limited protection at respiratory mucosal surfaces, which are key targets given they are the primary points at which the virus enters the body and from which it is subsequently transmitted to others. As a result, the vaccines are reasonably effective at preventing severe disease but less so at reducing respiratory tract infection and transmission – and that’s the gap we are seeking to bridge.”

The researchers aim to repurpose an existing vaccine using their first-in-class, patent-filed adjuvant, C100, which acts as a “vaccine booster” to enhance performance.

C100 uniquely couples mucosal bio-adhesion with potent innate immune activation, enabling strong immune (T cell) responses and local antibody production, which are two important immunological features largely absent from current vaccines.

This project will establish the efficacy, safety and durability of mucosal immune cell responses, and the protective efficacy of the C100-adjuvanted nasal influenza vaccine.

Advancing this technology would ultimately position the programme for Phase 1 human clinical translation, and support the development of a broadly protective, potentially transmission-blocking influenza vaccine.

This cutting-edge research from Trinity leverages the university’s leading expertise in immunology and vaccine research, while contributing to wider global efforts to strengthen preparedness against seasonal and emerging respiratory viral threats.

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