Intravacc and Cristal Therapeutics have announced a collaboration to develop novel vaccine programs against human diseases with the initial candidate targeting COVID-19.
The companies will initially focus on generating a CriVac vaccine candidate based on the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. In addition, Cristal Therapeutics will provide its copper-free click chemistry reagent, CliCr, for evaluation with Intravacc’s proprietary outer membrane vesicles (OMV) technology. OMV vaccines allow for the native conformation of immunity-stimulating antigens. After completion of the evaluation period the companies will explore next steps to further advance the program.
Axel Mescheder, CEO and CMO of Cristal, said: “Over the past year, it has become evident that vaccines play a crucial role in protecting us, our families and those at high risk for infectious diseases. We have put great effort in optimising our unique CriVac platform based on our CriPec nanoparticles and CliCr conjugation technology. Our CriVac technology platform mimics features of a live virus, inducing immunity in a safe and efficient way, providing a solid foundation for the development of novel vaccine approaches. We look forward to partnering with Intravacc to develop novel therapeutic candidates for vaccine-preventable diseases.”
The companies hope combining the technologies will further allow swift development of vaccine candidates against a broad range of human diseases, driven by a scalable GMP manufacturing process.
Dr Jan Groen, Intravacc’s CEO, said: “Intravacc shares the belief that no one should be suffering from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines. We have a track record in translational vaccinology and an established infrastructure that enables the accelerated development of promising vaccine candidates such as Cristal’s CriVac approach. Combining Cristal’s technologies with Intravacc’s proprietary LPS and OMV technologies holds great promise. We look forward to working closely with the Cristal team to advance the program through preclinical evaluation.”