Uvax Bio, LLC, a privately held preclinical-stage vaccine company, has achieved a major breakthrough in its HIV vaccine candidates, with preclinical studies showing significantly improved immune response compared to current vaccine strategies.
Published in Nature Communications, the paper “Single-component multilayered self-assembling protein nanoparticles presenting glycan-trimmed uncleaved prefusion optimized envelope trimers as HIV-1 vaccine candidates” provides evidence of the company’s progress. This is a major step forward in the ongoing fight against HIV and AIDS.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is proud to announce its sponsorship of a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers, slated to begin in the first quarter of 2024. The results of prior studies have shown promising potential for this trial, prompting the NIH to take this exciting step forward. This trial will be an important milestone in discovering treatments for the conditions being studied.
The puzzle of an HIV vaccine has taken a big step forward, thanks to a newly-designed solution. According to the study, led by Jiang Zhu, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research and Co-Founder of Uvax Bio, this breakthrough offers a promising path to finding a vaccine.
Uvax Bio has secured exclusive rights to the revolutionary 1c-SApNP® self-assembling protein nanoparticle platform and its lead HIV vaccine candidates, under a comprehensive agreement with Scripps Research. This cutting-edge vaccine technology promises to revolutionize the world of immunology and has the potential to bring us one step closer to eradicating HIV.
A groundbreaking novel vaccine design has been developed, featuring tiny protein “nanoparticles” that replicate the HIV virus by displaying multiple copies of its envelope glycoprotein (Env). This design cleverly utilizes glycans, flexible sugar molecules that usually cover Env on the real virus, and shortens them to induce a stronger immune response without causing HIV infection. By exposing the antigens to the human immune system, functional antibodies are induced, paving the way for a potential solution to the problem of HIV.
Dr. Zhu and his team at Scripps Research have revolutionized HIV vaccine design with groundbreaking innovations that could drastically improve the lives of those living with the virus. Uvax Bio is confident that these advancements will have a positive impact on patient outcomes.
Uvax Bio has reached a major milestone in its vaccine development program, completing GMP lot manufacturing of two vaccine candidates for use in an upcoming Phase 1 clinical trial. To ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, the company is conducting two final preclinical studies prior to submitting an IND application.
Additionally, stability testing is underway to examine the vaccine’s performance over time, with two months of stability testing already reported at standard refrigeration and under accelerated conditions.
About HIV/AIDS
With an estimated 38.4 million people living with HIV globally, and 1.5 million newly infected in 2021, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is working diligently to combat the virus.
In the United States alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports a staggering 34,800 new HIV infections in 2019. Unfortunately, a cure for the virus has yet to be discovered, meaning those living with HIV must take antiviral drugs indefinitely to prevent the infection from progressing to AIDS.
About Uvax Bio
Uvax Bio, a spin-off vaccine company from Scripps Research, is revolutionizing modern medicine with its proprietary 1c-SApNP® platform technology. Invented by Dr. Jiang Zhu of Scripps Research, this revolutionary platform holds the exclusive worldwide rights and an expanding portfolio of 12 patented preclinical vaccine candidates.
Uvax is leading the way in the development of prophylactic vaccines for challenging infectious diseases, such as HIV, Universal Flu and RSV. With its single step, universal, cell-based manufacturing process, the company can produce virus-like protein particles that can display 20-60 stabilized antigens, allowing for the targeting of a wide range of viral and bacterial diseases. This technology is set to revolutionize the fight against infectious diseases.