Liquidia takes PATH to a next-generation pneumococcal vaccine
Agrees to conduct preclinical proof-of-concept studies
Liquidia Technologies, a US developer of particle-based vaccines and therapeutics, has signed an agreement with PATH, an international global health non-profit organisation, to conduct preclinical proof-of-concept studies on a next-generation pneumococcal vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Using its novel technology called Particle Replication In Non-Wetting Templates (PRINT), Research Triangle Park-based Liquidia is developing rationally designed carriers for improved delivery of small molecule and biological cargoes.
Liquidia Technologies’ chief executive Neal Fowler said by improving vaccine performance and reducing manufacturing costs using its PRINT technology, the collaboration has the potential to have a significant impact on the control of the spread of pneumonia in the developing world.
Dr Mark Alderson, director of PATH’s pneumococcal vaccine project, added: ‘Technologies such as PRINT may allow us to find safe and effective pneumococcal vaccines that can be delivered to a global population in a cost-effective manner.’
PRINT offers the first GMP compliant platform for designing and producing monodisperse particles of precise size, shape, and chemistry. This ability to control particle design could transform the way drugs are developed, including more effective and less toxic therapeutics and vaccines. By using novel moulding capabilities, Liquidia can bring together multiple vaccine components in highly precise particulate presentations.
Liquidia entered into its first Phase 1 clinical trial of an influenza vaccine in 2010 and has developed a portfolio of vaccine programmes in early preclinical development.
In February, the firm announced a collaboration with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) to explore the use of its PRINT technology to design next-generation malaria vaccines.