Dr Arcadio Garcia de Castro, with an extensive background in the sciences and research, is a leading consultant to the Biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. His true passion lies in the technical aspects of formulating vaccines and pharmaceuticals into thermostable or fridge-free products.
This passion may seem like a pipe dream given the current reliance on the global cold chain to protect vaccines, and other temperature sensitive pharmaceutical products, during distribution and storage around the world. The reality is that Dr Arcadio and Dr Bruce Roser, Chairman and Founder of Stablepharma Ltd, have worked together for over 25 years progressing the technology to make fridge-free vaccines a reality. Stablepharma’s first vaccine, SPVX02, intended for the prevention of tetanus and diphtheria infection, has recently reached a significant developmental milestone, with Stablepharma reporting the manufacture under GMP conditions at the Thermo Fisher Scientific PDS facility in Monza, Italy. Other vaccines are under investigation.
As Chief Scientific Officer of Stablepharma, Arcadio leads the R&D team based in QUBE Technology Park in Madrid and works closely with partners to progress the thermostability of conventional and RNA-LNP based vaccines. “Thermostabilisation provides a route to making vaccines and pharmaceuticals generally more accessible world-wide by eliminating the need for the cold chain’. ‘At Stablepharma we are very keen to establish collaborative programs and work closely with vaccine manufacturers/developers who understand the great advantage of medical products that do not require refrigeration”, said Arcadio.
Since Covid19 there has been a huge amount of focus by the pharmaceutical industry on progressing and stabilising RNA-LNP vaccines. I asked Arcadio what it is about RNA-LNP that has so captured the imagination of the industry and where Stablepharma sit in terms of their progress in this area. “Well, the urgent response that was required during the pandemic, resulted in the rapid development of RNA-LNP as a novel class of pharmaceuticals with huge potential in a wide range of indications, both prophylactic and therapeutic’. ‘Stablepharma has focused its effort on the RNA-LNP arena by applying its core competences in the manufacture and formulation of thermostable products that do not require cold storage’. ‘We are very excited with our most recent data, showing that we maintained efficacy of RNA-LNP, even after exposure for weeks at temperatures as high as +40ºC”, said Arcadio.
With a PhD in Biotechnology and BSc Honors in Microbiology, Genetics and Immunology, Arcadio has always had, and continues to have, a strong interest in drug and vaccine stabilization, the delivery technologies and the broader field of Medical Devices and biomaterials. Arcadio is a founder member of QUBE Technology Park, in Madrid, which hosts over 40 biotech companies and extensive R&D facilities.