Vaccine technology start-up, NeoVac, and technology innovation catalyst, CPI, have formed a partnership to fast-track a revolutionary lipid nanoparticle technology to clinical trial.
Through this partnership, technology innovation catalyst CPI will enable and accelerate the clinical testing of NeoVac’s lipid nanoparticle (LNP) drug delivery technology. CPI will develop scalable processes and manufacture clinical-grade batches of RNA-LNP product, focusing initially on doses to tackle new and emergent variants of COVID-19, before targeting other diseases.
LNPs package RNA into tiny droplets, known as vesicles, which deliver the RNA to target cells in the body. Once delivered, the RNA is used to produce the protective immune response against infectious agents such as the coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 that causes COVID-19.
Laboratory studies have shown that NeoVac’s proprietary LNP technology increases the immunogenicity of RNA vaccines and reduces side effects. Notably, the RNA-LNP product has been found to be stable for over 1 year in a fridge (4°C) and at room temperature for at least 1 month.
This enhanced performance of NeoVac’s LNP product could make RNA vaccines more transportable, affordable, able to tackle multiple pathogen variants, while having fewer side effects compared with existing licensed vaccines.
Founder and Chair of NeoVac, Professor Dan Peer, said: “We are delighted to announce this significant partnership; we appreciate CPI’s vital contribution as we enter the clinical phase of our work. CPI’s RNA Centre of Excellence will take our LNP technology to the next level, with their manufacturing know-how and capabilities. CPI provides us with the ‘plug and play’ facilities we need to now evaluate our technology in humans.”
NeoVac will be benefitting from our RNA Centre of Excellence in order to respond to the global, post-pandemic push for novel RNA vaccines and therapeutics
Part-funded by the UK Government via Innovate UK and the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, CPI works with government agencies, universities, and companies to support innovation. In October, CPI launched its RNA Centre of Excellence and RNA Training Academy with an additional £10.65 million in funding from the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce to upskill the future RNA workforce and support the development, scale-up, and manufacture of new RNA therapies and vaccines.
Co-founder and NeoVac CEO, Dr Eran Eilat, said: “We are excited to collaborate with the CPI team to bring a better, affordable, and safer response to emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We believe that the COVID-19 vaccines have opened the door for a new world of innovative treatments for infectious, genetic and cancer indications, to help millions of patients around the globe.
“This partnership draws together two parties with a proven international scientific impact. NeoVac’s scientific advisory board is chaired by Professor Adrian Hill, founder of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, which collaborated with AstraZeneca to create a COVID-19 vaccine now deployed worldwide. Through this project with CPI, we will make a huge contribution to public health.”
Dave Tudor, CPI’s Managing Director of its Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, Biologics and Quality, said: “I am delighted that NeoVac will be benefitting from our RNA Centre of Excellence in order to respond to the global, post-pandemic push for novel RNA vaccines and therapeutics. I’m excited to see what we can achieve when we bring together the established RNA and LNP scientific capability and GMP supply at CPI, with the novel LNP science and entrepreneurial spirit at NeoVac.”
