The partnership will involve the optimised delivery of saRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics
Ziphius Vaccines and the University of Antwerp have announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to research and develop a dynamic lipid library for optimised delivery systems of ribonucleic acid (RNA) based drugs and therapeutics.
Ziphus specialises in developing transformative self-amplifying RNA medicinal products for vaccine and therapeutic applications
The safe and effective delivery of nucleic acids into the cell is one of the biggest challenges for the development and production of mRNA-based drugs. Also, Ziphius’ delivery platform employs the cutting-edge lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology to specifically design saRNA carriers that ensure proper encapsulation, stability and biodegradability of the LNP-saRNA complex.
Professor Koen Augustyns, dean at the University of Antwerp, was optimistic about the partnership: “Everyone got to know about mRNA vaccines during the COVID-19 crisis. In future, we expect a lot from saRNA vaccines, their successors. Different researchers of the University of Antwerp have extensive expertise in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.”
“We are pleased that we can now pool our knowledge with Ziphius. In some cases, one plus one equals three: that is certainly the case when it comes to this collaboration,” he added.
Chris Cardon, CEO of Ziphius Vaccines, concluded: “Efficient delivery of saRNA to the cells is a major limiting factor for the development and production of RNA based vaccines. With this collaboration agreement with the University of Antwerp we will be leveraging the expertise and the innovative skills in organic and medicinal chemistry continue to invest in the further optimisation of our proprietary delivery platform.”
Meanwhile, Ziphius’ lead compound – ZIP1642 – is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate and currently being evaluated in preclinical studies.
