Naobios and the European Vaccine Initiative (EVI) have begun collaborations to manufacture an RSV challenge agent.
The CDMO has entered into this deal through the Inno4Vac project, which is funded by the Innovative Health Initiative.
According to Naobios, it has already successfully completed the development, manufacturing and filling of a range of human viral challenge agents (HVCAs) for study use.
These HVCAs are generally used to test a vaccine or treatment in a controlled clinical setting.
To date, Nabios has produced 15 GMP-grade batches of various viral strains, including SARS-CoV-2, RSV and hMPV.
HVCAs can offer as an early and cost-effective method to test a vaccine's efficacy, while also contributing to the acceleration of RSV vaccine development.
Naobios' General Manager, Eric Le Forestier, commented: “Our state-of-the-art facilities and deep expertise in challenge agent manufacturing enable us to meet the critical needs of clients worldwide, advancing research and therapeutic development in virology,”
“This partnership with EVI marks a significant milestone in our mission to leverage HVCA to accelerate the production of effective and accessible vaccines in regions that struggle with the prevention of virus outbreaks.”
EVI's Executive Director, Ole Olesen, added: “CHIM studies are a powerful methodology that can shortcut the traditional development process and generate early evidence for the effectiveness of new vaccines,”
“CHIM studies for RSV require high-quality HVCA; our collaboration with Naobios is therefore of crucial importance for the success of our endeavours.”