DEL MAR, Calif., Aug. 6, 2024 -- Phylex Biosciences has achieved positive results with its new mRNA nanoparticle vaccine against the Nipah virus in an immunogenicity study conducted in collaboration with scientists of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Nipah virus is a pathogen causing encephalitis and acute respiratory distress in humans, with recent outbreaks in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, and a fatality rate over 50%. The natural hosts of the virus are large fruit bats present across South Asia. Last month the Indian state of Kerala reported the death of a 14-year-old boy from a Nipah virus infection. To date, no approved vaccine or therapeutic exists against the Nipah virus.

Phylex has published a preprint of a research article on immunogenicity of its Nipah mRNA nanoparticle vaccine candidate in mice co-authored with scientists of the CDC  (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.08.05.606671v1). The vaccine elicited a robust neutralizing antibody response, with neutralizing titers markedly higher than with several other Nipah vaccine designs, and efficient neutralizing even with a single dose.

The Phylex mRNA vaccine encodes for a nanoparticle displaying 60 copies of the antigen based upon the head domain of the G protein of the Nipah virus. In virus neutralization assays, neutralization titers of Phylex vaccine-elicited sera against Nipah virus were 3-fold the average titers of 14 individuals in Bangladesh who survived a Nipah virus infection.  

"We are grateful to our co-authors at the CDC for their contribution in assessing our vaccine against this difficult pathogen," said Pascal Brandys, co-founder and CEO of Phylex Biosciences. "The results confirm the strong advantage of our mRNA vaccine encoding for a highly immunogenic nanoparticle, as compared with a variety of other technologies."

"Our vaccine combines the advantages of mRNA for speed of manufacturing and development and a nanoparticle for efficacy after one dose," Brandys continued. "We will aggressively pursue the clinical development of our vaccine candidate to initiate clinical trials with exposed individuals on a compassionate basis and save lives as soon as possible."

About Phylex BioSciences

Founded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by genomics pioneer Pascal Brandys and virologist Jens Herold, Phylex BioSciences is the first company to pursue the development of a mRNA nanoparticle vaccine against the Nipah virus.

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