July 09, 2012 - Prokarium Ltd, a spin-out company of Cobra Biologics, the international clinical and commercial manufacturer of biologics and pharmaceuticals, today completed a key technology acquisition from Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE: EBS), a global biopharmaceutical company based in Maryland, USA. The technology includes Emergent’s live Salmonella-based typhoid vaccine TyphellaTM and its genetic technology spi-VECTM. Prokarium will combine TyphellaTM and spi-VECTM with its proprietary genetic and formulation technologies to form VaxonellaTM, a versatile oral vaccine delivery platform.
Emergent has successfully conducted several phase 1 and 2 clinical trials, which have shown TyphellaTM to be safe and immunogenic as a typhoid vaccine. The combination with Prokarium’s plasmid stabilisation technology ORT-VACTM, will enable the delivery of recombinant protein vaccines without needles or adjuvants. Prokarium plans to offer this VaxonellaTM platform to the biotech community on a licensing basis.
Prokarium will focus on the development of a dual oral vaccine against typhoid and ETEC (enterotoxigenic E. coli – a major cause of diarrhoea) for travellers and developing country markets. There are 22 million cases of typhoid every year resulting in 200,000 deaths, so an effective oral vaccine could have a significant impact. Currently there is no dedicated vaccine against ETEC, considered responsible for 300,000 – 500,000 deaths per year, mostly of young children.
Dr Rocky Cranenburgh, Prokarium’s Chief Scientific Officer, said “I am delighted with the acquisition of this technology from Emergent; the combination of their Salmonella vector with Prokarium’s technologies allows us to develop an advanced oral delivery platform which gives Prokarium the potential to revolutionise vaccinations”
For more information about Prokarium, please contact
Ted Fjällman,
Development Director
on +44 7811 367 729 or email [email protected]
For media enquiries, please contact
Tristan Jervis or Alex Heeley
on +44 207 861 3019
or email: [email protected]