HYDERABAD, India & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PopVax, an Indian full-stack biotechnology company developing broadly-protective mRNA vaccines using machine learning-enabled computational protein design, is delighted to announce that it has been awarded $2 million by the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) as one of the winners of the Concept Stage of BARDA’s Patch Forward Prize for its seasonal influenza vaccine built on a novel mRNA-encoded immunogen display architecture delivered via dissolvable microarray patch. PopVax is developing this vaccine in partnership with Germany’s LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme AG (LTS), a leading player in transdermal drug delivery.
The Patch Forward Prize is a multi-stage $50 million competition launched by BARDA to accelerate the development of microneedle patch-based RNA vaccines for COVID-19, seasonal influenza, and pandemic influenza. PopVax intends to use the award it has received to accelerate the development of its influenza vaccine programs, including its broadly-protective influenza vaccine intended to protect against all key seasonal and pandemic strains in a single shot, leveraging both the LTS microarray patch technology and other delivery modalities.
PopVax’s prize-winning vaccine is built on its mRNA-encoded immunogen display approach, machine learning-enabled immunogen design feedback loop, and lipid nanoparticle (LNP) platform that boost the elicited strain-specific antibody response by as much as 250x in mice in comparison with a leading approved influenza vaccine, leading to significantly lower dosage requirements. The vaccine also elicits a broader immune response, including robust antibody titer against pandemic H5N1 influenza, a rising threat in the United States, despite not encoding an H5N1-specific immunogen.
The LTS microarray patch delivery system allows for easy self-administration, since it is simple enough to be self-applied manually, solely by thumb pressure. Once applied, the microneedles that form the array dissolve within 15 minutes, ensuring that no sharp-edged waste remains. Formulation into a microarray patch also enhances the thermostability of the mRNA-LNP vaccine, significantly broadening its global reach and accessibility.
PopVax has the ability to produce GMP-grade mRNA-LNP material at its RNA Foundry in Hyderabad, which it will combine with the MAP production capabilities of LTS’s GMP facilities in Germany and the US to provide a rapid-response warm-base capacity for vaccines developed as part of this collaboration.
“This award from BARDA is a tremendous honour for the PopVax team and our wonderful partners at LTS Lohmann,” said Soham Sankaran, Founder & CEO of PopVax. “Combining our broadly-protective influenza vaccine technology with the LTS microarray patch for self-administration unlocks a future where individuals can protect themselves from both seasonal and pandemic influenza from the comfort of their own homes via a patch that is delivered straight to their front door, rather than waiting in long lines in crowded places for a vaccine and exposing themselves to further spread of infectious diseases, as happened just a few years ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also excited about the greater thermostability conferred by the microarray patch formulation enhancing the utility of these vaccines in developing countries where below-freezing supply chains are not reliably available.”
PopVax & LTS Lohmann are now working to advance the self-administered patch-delivered seasonal influenza vaccine into preclinical studies this quarter.
Mr. Sankaran presented on PopVax’s winning submission, and the company’s ongoing efforts to develop broadly-protective mRNA vaccines against influenza and other pathogens, at the BARDA Vaccine Innovation Forum held during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on January 13, 2025. PopVax leadership will be in San Francisco from January 13-20 conducting meetings to evaluate potential partners for their vaccine programs, mRNA-LNP platforms, and machine-learning enabled protein design feedback loop.
Inquiries and requests to meet with the PopVax team between January 13-20 in San Francisco can be directed to contact@popvax.com.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (https://medicalcountermeasures.gov/barda/) is an office of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. BARDA’s mission is to develop medical countermeasures that address the public health and medical consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear accidents, incidents and attacks, pandemic influenza, and emerging infectious diseases.
PopVax (https://popvax.com) has developed novel mRNA architectures for immunogen display, a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery platform for mRNA using PopVax-designed novel ionizable lipids, and a machine learning-enabled feedback loop for immunogen design. These platforms collectively form the foundation of PopVax’s ability to rapidly take new mRNA biomedicines from concept to clinic. Founded in late 2021, and previously incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), PopVax now employs 70 people across its computational, experimental, analytical, process development, and quality teams at the RNA Foundry, its integrated R&D and cGMP-ready clinical dose production facility in Hyderabad.
PopVax’s next-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate has been selected for a Phase I trial conducted & sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is expected to begin in Q2 2025. The company has six novel vaccine candidates in its preclinical pipeline, and intends to initiate five clinical trials over the next two years. PopVax’s work has been funded in part via project agreements with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and with Balvi, a global health and biosecurity organization started by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
