Poolbeg Pharma PLC (AIM:POLB) said it had signed a licence that will provide it with access to the microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation advances being developed by AnaBio Technologies.
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.
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: "Vaccine uptake is a critical factor in the effectiveness of combating communicable infectious diseases, something that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown in recent months.
“Oral vaccines bring significant benefits both in terms of the logistics required to distribute and administer them, but also in how the body responds through creating mucosal immunity in the gut and acting as a barrier to the infection.
"This licencing deal with AnaBio and the access to its advanced micro- and nano-encapsulation technologies will enable Poolbeg to develop an oral vaccine delivery platform from which to complement an already diverse pipeline of treatments and vaccines against infectious diseases."
The tie-up with AnaBio is the latest in several licence agreements that Poolbeg has completed since its listing last July.
It has brought into the portfolio a nasally administered immunotherapy for respiratory virus and has an option over a vaccine candidate for the infectious disease melioidosis. The company’s lead programme is POLB 001 for severe flu.