Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc (CSE:MVMD) (OTCMKTS:MVMDF) (FRA:20MP) has filed a patent to protect its Porous Aluminum Nano-Structured Adjuvant (PANA) process for vaccine dose sparing, which allows a vaccine to be delivered at a fraction of its normal dose without losing potency.
The PANA patent includes a novel adjuvant that was created to be fully compatible with current vaccine manufacturing methods. Adjuvants are pharmacological or immunological agents that improve the immune response of a vaccine, the company said, enabling vaccines to produce more antibodies and achieve longer-lasting immunity, thus allowing for lower dosage.
MVMD’s new PANA process produces a stable nano-particulate adjuvant that does not conglomerate during repeated freeze-thaw cycles, avoiding negative effects on the vaccine strength. The process requires only sterile filtration, rather than high-temperature autoclaving, which uses high-pressure steam that can cause damage.
Aluminum adjuvants currently on the market have proven dose-sparing characteristics with vaccines such as the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) but have numerous disadvantages in both manufacturing and stability, the company said. MVMD believes its PANA process overcomes the limitations of traditional aluminum-based adjuvants while significantly enhancing dose sparing stability and ease of use.
"It is a reasonable scientific objective that our new dose sparing adjuvant will enable us to deliver Inactivated Polio Vaccine with the same effect as a full standard dose that is used today, but using about 20 times less of the vaccine," Director of Life Sciences Mike Farber said in a statement. "This is a critical achievement to optimize manufacturing output and dramatically reduce costs."
MVMD has designed an adjuvant IPV study to determine the exact dose sparing capability of its patented approach. The Toronto-based company plans to proceed immediately with the selection of a contract research organization to conduct the study, which will compare an existing Alhydrogel adjuvant to its own nano-particulate adjuvant.
The study will utilize both intramuscular injection and intradermal injection immunization methods and evaluate the antibody response to fractional doses of IPV alone or adjuvanted.
"MVMD's newly developed stable nano-particulate adjuvant is a critical piece of our broader vaccine technology strategy and our current focus on completely eradicating polio," CEO Dennis Hancock said. "Linking together all of our leading project work in this space is key. Using a fraction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, applying advanced Quicksome thin film inside a vial that can be distributed completely outside of the cold chain and administering through needleless applications is the formula to help us achieve our vision of a world without polio".
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