The collaboration aims to manufacture vaccines for clinical use at eXmoor’s Bristol, UK plant set to launch in Q3, 2023.

Cell and gene therapy (CGT) firm eXmoor pharma has partnered with vaccine platform developer, Imophoron. The first step of the agreement will see eXmoor develop a scalable manufacturing platform for Imophoron’s vaccine technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, the platform will initially be optimized for Imophoron’s Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) targeted vaccine. After this, a technology transfer of the process will occur at eXmoor’s cell and gene therapy site in Bristol. Next, the material will be used in Imophoron’s scheduled Phase I clinical trial. After this, production is anticipated to begin following completion of the process development operations.

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“eXmoor pharma’s team will be transferring to our new Cell and Gene Therapy Centre in July 2023 and our GMP manufacturing facilities will be online to meet Imophoron’s timeline,” said Angela Osborne, CEO, eXmoor pharma.

“Imophoron want to move rapidly into the clinic, so having a partner located closely, and based with the available resources in Bristol, UK, will further speed up process development and manufacturing. eXmoor will be transferring to its new Cell and Gene Therapy Center in Bristol, in July, 2023, and our GMP manufacturing facilities will be on line to meet Imophoron’s timeline The center will be ideally suited for Imophoron’s vaccine platform.”

Imophoron’s ADDomer platform is being developed to quickly produce vaccine candidates targeting a various range of diseases that can be administered intranasally and intramuscularly. The firm said it designed a cost effective and simple production strategy, as well as creating thermostability of its vaccine candidates, which removes the requirement for sub-temperature storage of alternative vaccine technologies. Thus, its vaccine candidates have the potential to be distributed with no cold chain.

“Imophoron’s ADDomer nanoparticle technology is based on a naturally-occurring, non-infectious adenovirus protein ‘scaffold’,” Richard Bungay, CEO at Imophoron told us.

“Imophoron is able to engineer small parts of infectious disease molecules into these protein units; these protein units form naturally as units of five (pentons) which spontaneously assemble into units of 12. This makes 60 protein units in total. The resultant ADDomer is a similar size to a virus particle, so can be easily ‘seen’ by the immune system and generates a strong immune response, [for example] vaccination. The ADDomers are also very stable so do not require any cold chain storage and may be suitable for use in harsh climates.”

According to both parties, the engineering and process development activity will allow Imophoron to enter the clinic at a quicker rate. Moreover, by having eXmoor responsible for completing the activities, the team at Imophoron can focus specific on its vaccine development.

“The COVID-19 outbreak demonstrated how devastating pandemics can be to healthcare, the global economy, and wider societies. It is vital that emerging technologies are able to rapidly deliver cost effective vaccines that can be distributed internationally. Imophoron is developing a thermostable vaccine platform that has the potential to combat both present infectious diseases and future potential outbreaks,” said Richard Bungay, CEO, Imophoron.

“It is an important milestone for Imophoron to partner with eXmoor pharma and utilize its expertise to deliver a robust production process and a route to manufacturing for future clinical development.”