Advanced Chemistry Powered by a Scalable, Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Platform
Bacteria use a vast array of physical, biochemical and immunological mechanisms to evade or repel the host’s efforts to destroy or neutralize them. To counteract these complex defense strategies, vaccines must include multiple antigens, serotypes and/or immune-enhancing components to maximize coverage and precisely target multiple serotypes while providing durable protection without triggering unwanted off-target effects.
Unencumbered by the limitations of traditional cell-based methods of protein expression, our chemistry and proprietary cell-free protein synthesis platform enable us to engineer more precise, site-specific conjugation to preserve essential immune epitopes.
Our Platform Overcomes the Limitations of Conventional Vaccines
Our advanced chemistry platform, including our cell-free protein synthesis platform (XpressCF™), is exclusively licensed from Sutro Biopharma, Inc., which has scaled the platform at its GMP facility.
XpressCF™ enables us to overcome the limitations of traditional chemistry by separating the cellular biochemical components into an extract that includes everything required for transcription, translation and energy production. In combination with our advanced chemistry, XpressCF™ enables precise, site-specific conjugation with the aim of enhancing the potency of standard protein carriers, allowing us to expand coverage by adding more pathogenic strains to our vaccines without adversely affecting immunogenicity.
How Our Technology Does More with Less
Conjugate vaccines induce a robust and boostable antibody response to the protective carbohydrate coating of Streptococcus pneumoniae. With VAX-31 and VAX-24, our potentially best-in-class pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidates, we have discovered how to make the connections between carrier proteins and polysaccharides in a way that preserves exposure of the T-cell epitopes of the carrier protein. As a result, we believe we can use half as much protein as conventional vaccines, enabling us to add incremental strains to our PCVs. The body of positive evidence generated by the VAX-31 and VAX-24 adult studies validates the potential of our site-specific, carrier-sparing platform to deliver broad-spectrum PCVs designed to provide protection against both currently circulating and historically prevalent serotypes and raise the bar for immunogenicity.
Partnerships & Alliances
We welcome the opportunity to discuss collaborative ideas on how to further advance our mission to engineer high-fidelity vaccines that protect humankind from the consequences of bacterial diseases.
Our ecosystem of strategic partnerships is central to scaling our efforts and maximizing impact.