OSLO Norway: The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Emervax Inc, today announced a partnering agreement to advance their circular RNA vaccine technology to develop vaccine candidates against emerging viruses with epidemic and pandemic potential. CEPI will provide up to $2.15 million to optimize the platform and generate data needed to support preclinical proof-of-concept.
This funding is part of CEPI’s initiative to develop of RNA vaccine platform technologies and vaccine library development against emerging and select endemic infectious diseases. As part of this initiative, CEPI seeks to develop novel RNA platform technologies based on potentially high-impact innovations offering substantial advantages over existing mRNA technologies. It is supporting RNA platform technologies that can be used for the development of vaccine candidates against a specified list of known pathogens and the development of vaccine libraries against high-priority virus families with the potential for Disease X emergence.
mRNA vs circular RNA
RNA vaccines use the body’s own machinery to make antigenic protein rather than injecting the pure antigen directly into the body (an antigen is a foreign substance that induces an immune response). However, existing mRNA vaccines are not stable and require multiple doses.
As their name suggests, circular RNA vaccine candidates have a closed-loop structure. This makes them potentially less susceptible to degradation and more stable than mRNA vaccine candidates. The physiological mechanisms that underpin the translation of circular RNA could also lead to increased durability of protein/antigen production in the body after administration, which could result in improved efficacy with lower doses.
Emervax is developing methods to improve the purification, scaling up manufacturing of circular RNA with polymeric nanoparticles, and designing & developing of a safe, effective, and potentially thermostable Yellow Fever vaccine.
Novel RNA technologies, such as those being developed by Emervax will make up an important part of the proposed Global Vaccine Library: a global repository of vaccine resources, capabilities and data that would maximise epidemic and pandemic preparedness and drive accelerated vaccine development when new viral threats arise. The tools and technologies advanced through this initiative are expected to make a vital contribution to the Global Vaccine Library. The Global Vaccine Library is central to CEPI’s 100 Days Mission to develop a vaccine in 10o days after the emergence of a new disease X, giving the world a chance to stop the outbreak of a new infectious disease before it has had time to develop into a pandemic.
Enabling equitable access
CEPI is committed to enabling equitable access to the vaccines, products and innovations it supports. Through its partnership with CEPI, Emervax has demonstrated its shared commitment to ensuring equitable access to its technology in line with CEPI’s Equitable Access Policy, including the potential application of its technology to future vaccine development of interest to CEPI, and a commitment to technology transfer in order to ensure affordable vaccines are available to populations when and where they are needed to end an outbreak or curtail an epidemic or pandemic.
Dr Melanie Saville, Executive Director of Vaccine R&D said: “The continuous improvement of vaccine technologies is vital to giving the world a better defence system against epidemic and pandemic viral threats. RNA-vaccine technology was critical to the global response to COVID-19 and will continue to be for future responses to emerging infectious threats. CEPI is supporting novel RNA vaccine technologies, such as circular RNA technology, to make sure we have a broad range of vaccine platforms that could enable the world to respond quickly and efficiently to the next Disease X.”
Peter D. Weinstein, Ph.D., J.D., Chief Executive Officer of Emervax said: “Emervax is excited and honoured to work closely with CEPI and have access to its resources and expertise to advance a Yellow Fever vaccine using Emervax’s proprietary mRNA vaccine platform and delivery technology. This is the beginning of what Emervax believes will be a long and fruitful collaboration between Emervax and CEPI as Emervax looks forward to working with CEPI to further both parties’ mission to develop vaccines for emerging viral diseases that have the potential to cause an epidemic or pandemic.”