Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB) said it hopes to develop the next generation of oral vaccines once it completes a definitive deal with AnaBio Technologies.
It has signed binding terms with the microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation technologies specialist and says a full licence and collaboration agreement will follow.
The idea is to combine AnaBio’s delivery methods with Poolbeg’s expertise in infectious diseases, including using its Vaccine Discovery Platform.
Oral vaccines for diseases such as polio have been used successfully for decades. They work by delivering antigens to specific areas of the gut to stimulate what’s called 'mucosal immunity'.
Microencapsulation, effectively a thin coating around the active ingredient, is key to getting the therapeutic payload to the gut. This method also results in prolonged absorption profiles.
The collaboration could not be timelier with the UK ramping up its winter booster programme to stave off the worst effects of the Omicron Coronavirus (COVID-19) variant.
While anti-vaxxers continue to rail against mass inoculation, a major impediment to compliance continues to be the use of needles to administer the protection against the virus.
Poolbeg chief executive, Jeremy Skillington, said: "As we have seen in the COVID-19 pandemic, the success of global vaccination drives is dependent on the effective uptake of vaccines.
“Oral vaccines are highly attractive due to their improved stability profiles, ease of administration, generation of mucosal immunity and being preferable to needle-phobic patients.”