Biopolymer Vaccine Platform

Background

Vaccination is a safe and effective way to protect humans against life-threatening diseases by providing acquired immunity or adaptive immunity to a disease. According to the WHO, effective vaccines against 25 diseases are currently available. However, more vaccine development against other disease indications is required. The revenue estimate for the global vaccine market in 2023 alone was US$ 77.6 billion and is predicted to grow with a CAGR of 3.9% by 2028 to US$ 93.8 billion.

The recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic demonstrated the need for novel vaccine production strategies capable of large-scale production and rapid design. While some strategies exist that enable rapid vaccine development (notably mRNA approaches), the cost of manufacturing and logistics for vaccine distribution remain limitations for many of these approaches

Technology Overview

Griffith University researchers have developed an adaptable and scalable vaccine platform using engineered endotoxin-free E. coli cell factories producing biopolymer vaccines.

This high-yield bioprocess assembles biopolymer particles densely coated with the antigen/epitopes of interest in a one-step process, inside an endotoxin-free engineered E. coli production system. This biopolymer vaccine technology is a versatile platform that is customizable for incorporating multiple antigens. This platform also presents a cost-effective vaccine manufacturing strategy to produce large-scale vaccine-biopolymer particles for various disease indications with a fast development time, that can be quickly adapted for emerging disease indications with a bacterial or viral origin. The so produced vaccines are stable at ambient temperature, which overcomes challenges for vaccines with cold chain requirements and short shelf-life .

These particles induce long-lasting and antibody specific cell-mediated immune responses (Figure 1). Using this platform, our team has developed successfully vaccine candidates against the following disease indications: SARS-CoV-2, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, P. aeruginosa, influenza, Malaria, Meningitis, Pneumonia, Q-Fever, Melioidosis, Strep A, Strep Suis (animal health), Johne’s disease (animal health) as well as cancer vaccines for lymphoma, breast cancer, colon cancer and melanoma.

Further Details:

• Liu, Z. et al. Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2024.
• Jenika, D. et al. npj Vaccines. 2024.
• Chen, S. et al. Adv. Healthcare Mater. 2024

Opportunity

Griffith University is seeking to partner with a company that has the capability to further develop and bring this vaccine platform to market. We are offering an exclusive licence to the intellectual property, know-how and materials, and access to our team for further joint R&D and consultancy.