As featured in EMG Health publication 6th April 2020:
https://www.emg-health.com/omnipresent/ability-to-stabilise-and-stockpile-covid-19-vaccine-is-vital/
A British breakthrough invention could form a crucial part in the urgent quest to combat Covid-19 and future virus pandemics. StablevaX™ allows vaccines to be transported and stored for years in a syringe without refrigeration, a unique capability.
Currently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 50% of the world’s vaccines are rendered ineffective due to failings in the delivery and storage refrigeration processes, known as the ‘The Cold Chain’. The breakthrough will enable countries to confidently stockpile vaccinations that can be instantly injected, ultimately saving lives.
The current candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine include re-purposed drugs; established antivirals; monoclonal antibodies; non-specific therapeutics and new vaccines in development such as recombinant live virus vectors. StablevaX™ has been shown to thermally stabilise examples of all these classes of product, while complying with the vaccination protocols set by the WHO.
“We have investigated the current candidates for a Covid-19 vaccine and believe that our technology would be highly beneficial in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. A breakthrough and potential game changer, StablevaX™ provides a solution that eradicates the reliance on the cold chain and enables vaccine stockpiling anywhere in the world. Stablepharma stands ready to make our technologies widely available in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic by partnering with vaccine manufacturers to save many lives.” says Stablepharma Managing Director and Founder, Nick Child.
Stablepharma uses trehalose to stabilise pre-approved vaccines by drying the correct dose inside a special sponge and housing the sponge in a normal syringe. The result is an instantly injectable life-saving vaccine, at the correct dose, that can be stored on a shelf in just about any climate. Notoriously unstable naked RNA is uniquely rendered stable at c. 45°C.
Over 50 pharmaceutical, biotechnology and R&D products stabilised in this way show extreme thermal stability measured in years at high temperatures >45 ⁰ C. Live virus vectors such as Adenovirus and MVA poxvirus can be rendered stable for many months.
The huge benefit of StablevaX™ will be its unique ability to enable vaccines to be delivered and even stockpiled in the most inhospitable parts of the world, negating the expensive and unreliable ‘cold chain’ and thereby allowing vaccines to reach everyone, everywhere.