Calixar and VirPath develop an innovative manufacturing process for high performance influenza vaccines

Calixar, a start-up providing services focused on membrane proteins, and VirPath, an academic lab specialized in the study of influenza viruses, today announce a breakthrough in the manufacturing of high performance vaccines. Their current focus is on vaccines for influenza viruses.

Calixar has developed the technology and chemistry to split the virus’ membranes. The partners’ first new formulation of vaccine antigens is directed against the A H1N1 virus, also known as pandemic flu. This formulation showed high quality and performance compared to the blockbuster vaccines already on the market. VirPath’s egg-derived antigens formulations are at least six times more active than the marketed vaccines, in terms of hemagglutinin immunogenicity and in vivo protection.

“I’m very pleased that our research and expertise in influenza has contributed to this new high performance formulation in vaccine antigens,” said Dr Manuel Rosa-Calatrava, deputy director of VirPath. “We achieved these results by using Calixar’s technology. Vaccination against the flu is of major importance to public health. Our improved vaccine production processes will closely support that goal.”
 
“We will offer the influenza technology for licensing early 2015. We are also looking at other applications in the vaccine industry using the same chemistry and biochemistry approaches,” said Dr Emmanuel Dejean, chairman and CEO of Calixar. “We are convinced that this fruitful collaboration with VirPath will pave the way for the application of our technology to a broader spectrum of vaccine candidates.”

In parallel to this work, the partners are working on the native isolation of other antigens and preparing for the future development of universal vaccines, especially against influenza.

In June 2009, the WHO declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic. This novel virus spread worldwide and had caused about 17,000 deaths by the start of 2010. On August 10, 2010, the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying worldwide flu activity had returned to typical seasonal patterns.