Project aims to remove cold chain need for vaccines

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) and vaccine maker ImmunoBiology (ImmBio) are working on a project which could remove the need for cold chain in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The organisations are working to develop a heat-stabilised formulation for ImmBio’s multi-antigen candidate, PnuBioVax, which is designed to protect against Pneumococcal diseases. The idea is that a heat-stable formulation will remove the need for cold chain, a technology which LMICs may be lacking and which contributes to the high cost and accessibility of vaccines.   

Both the elderly and the very young are particularly vulnerable to Pneumococcal diseases which include meningitis, septicaemia and pneumonia. Indeed, it’s thought that there are 50 million cases of these diseases every year amongst the elderly and very young.

ImmBio's multi-antigen vaccine candidate PnuBioVax provides broad protection against Pneumococcal diseases. 

CPI will evaluate ImmBio’s PnuBioVax candidate before optimising a formulation that provides stability between 2-8°C and higher – removing the need for cold chain delivery.

Enrique Tabares, CEO at ImmunoBiology, said: “The cold chain contributes to the high cost of biologics and there is a risk that sensitive vaccines may be wasted due to environmental shocks. We are therefore delighted to be working with CPI on the development of a heat-stabilised PnuBioVax formulation. This will be a fantastic step towards improving the accessibility of this exciting vaccine.”

Lucy Foley, director of Biologics at CPI, said: “PnuBioVax has the potential to provide broad protection against very serious pneumococcal diseases and we are excited to be applying our biopharmaceutical expertise in order to help optimise the vaccine’s formulation. By leveraging our knowledge and experience in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals, we aim to significantly improve the vaccine’s transport and storage costs and also improve accessibility.”