UK biotechnology company Stablepharma is set to revolutionise the delivery of vaccines in the developing world by eliminating the need for refrigeration.
The Bath firm’s Stablevax drug stabilisation and delivery technology involves drying and stabilising liquid vaccines inside a disposable syringe that can be stored at any temperature and rehydrated for immediate injection.
The Stablevax syringe eliminates the need for refrigerators to store and transport vaccines. It is estimated that about half of the world's vaccinations are currently wasted because of exposure to high temperatures.
Dr Bruce Roser, chief scientific officer of Stablepharma, is looking to raise £200,000 in funding in return for an equity stake in the technology to take the Stablevax syringe forward.
‘Stablevax offers a far more efficient and cheaper way to deliver vaccines by stabilising and storing them in a disposable syringe,’ said Roser.
‘It has been developed to make life-saving vaccines much more widely available in poorer countries and represents a unique and exciting investment opportunity.’
Stablepharma’s commercial director Nick Child says the stabilisation of the vaccine has already taken place and the ‘next step is delivering it safely and cheaply’.
Child added that Stablepharma has agreed a contract with an approved EU laboratory that is run by one of Roser’s former students to handle the final certification of the Stablevax syringe.
The syringe design was completed and successfully tested in 2010 and the product should be available for distribution to the market once the 12–14 month trial-to-approval period is completed.
‘From about month five of the testing period we will know for sure the product will ‘pass’ and then we will start the commercialisation,’ says Child.
Contact: nchild@quartzsite.co.uk
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