NAPA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verndari, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company transforming vaccines with next generation science and delivery technology, announced today a federal government award to support development of Verndari’s VaxiPatch™ alternative vaccine technology. The award is funded through DRIVe the (Division of Research, Innovation, and Ventures) established by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Under the terms of the cost-shared $1 million program, BARDA will provide 68 percent of the total funding and Verndari will provide the remainder. The funding will support further development of Verndari’s vaccine technology, which is based on its patented VaxiPatch™ micro-needle dermal patch that is designed to provide a pain-free, significantly enhanced immune response with smaller doses at lower cost.
Verndari is one of several companies selected by BARDA DRIVe for support in developing alternative methods for vaccine delivery technologies. BARDA DRIVe fosters public-private partnerships to accelerate the development and availability of transformative technologies under the 21st Century Cures Act.
“We are excited to partner with BARDA to further develop Verndari’s VaxiPatch™ technology, which holds the promise of making vaccines more accessible and affordable while accelerating vaccine development for existing and emerging infectious diseases,” Verndari Chief Executive Officer Dr. Daniel R. Henderson stated. “When we founded Verndari, Inc., we set about to transform the entire vaccination process. Our delivery model offers a viable alternative for COVID-19 vaccines, and we are proud to be among the innovators working to solve the global health crisis.”
Verndari’s unique VaxiPatch™ is a complete single-dose vaccination kit that uses a dermal patch with a microneedle array designed to deliver pain-free vaccines to the arm, and which can potentially be self-administered. The technology eliminates the need for refrigeration, a major cost factor in vaccination, and facilitates high-volume, automated manufacturing of vaccines. This vaccine technology can be used both for existing vaccines and for new vaccines developed to meet emerging threats.
Vaccine delivery to the skin rather than intramuscular injection has potential advantages including production of a stronger immune response. This administration method also potentially allows a significantly smaller dose of vaccine to be used compared to the traditional injection.
The capabilities of Verndari’s vaccine technology were demonstrated in a recent preclinical study, published in Vaccine, of the company’s proprietary influenza vaccine administered with the VaxiPatch™ system that showed a significantly enhanced immune response. When compared with an existing influenza vaccine, Verndari obtained as much as a 15-fold higher immune response with 1/15 of the dose for the B/Colorado/06/2017 influenza strain.
Verndari’s VaxiPatch™ vaccine delivery method (SARS-CoV-2 Recombinant Spike Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) Skin Patch Vaccine candidate) is currently undergoing preclinical testing in laboratories at the University of California, Davis, where Verndari is a member of the university’s Venture Catalyst Program. Preliminary preclinical results are expected in the second half of 2020. Subject to safety and efficacy success, as well as discussions with regulatory bodies, a Phase 1 human clinical trial would commence thereafter. Verndari remains in ongoing discussions with the FDA for an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission for the VaxiPatchTM Vaccine System.
About Verndari, Inc.
Verndari, Inc. was founded in 2015 with the goal of transforming global health through next generation vaccine development and delivery. The privately held company based in Napa, California, aims to treat existing and emerging diseases, with rapid response to new viral threats such as COVID-19 as well as to produce more effective vaccinations for existing viruses, such as influenza, enabling delivery at lower cost to populations around the world. Verndari’s unique VaxiPatch™, a single-dose vaccination kit using a microneedle dermal technology, offers advantages that include dose sparing, improved efficacy, and pain-free delivery - while making vaccine administration much simpler. The technology eliminates the need for refrigeration and facilitates high-volume automated manufacturing of vaccines. Through innovation in vaccine science, Verndari aims to address many different diseases and to save countless lives. For more information on Verndari, please visit https://verndariinc.com
