RCS - Frontier IP Group - The Vaccine Group completes vaccine project

Frontier IPAnnouncement

02/12/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 3397I  Frontier IP Group plc  02 December 2022

Reach - a non-regulatory announcement

AIM: FIPP

02 December 2022

 

Frontier IP Group Plc

("Frontier IP" or the "Group")

 

 

Portfolio news - The Vaccine Group successfully completes Anglo-Chinese
Streptococcus suis vaccine project

 

 

Frontier IP, a specialist in commercialising intellectual property, is
delighted to note the following announcement that portfolio company The
Vaccine Group ("TVG" or the "Company") successfully completed an Anglo-Chinese
project to develop a vaccine against the most common types of Streptococcus
suis (S suis).

 

S suis is a bacterial disease that reduces pig farming productivity. It is
endemic in the global pig population, estimated at 780 million strong, and,
according to the Pork Information Gateway, is the most common cause of
systemic disease in nursery piglets. It is also zoonotic and can jump from
pigs to humans causing meningitis, septicaemia and other symptoms.

 

The disease is currently treated with antibiotics, but there is growing
evidence the disease is becoming resistant. Effective vaccines remove the need
for antibiotics. Frontier IP holds a 17 per cent equity stake in the Company.

 

TVG developed nine vaccine constructs, two of which have been screened, and
one of those has demonstrated more than 75 per cent efficacy in rabbits.

 

The project was a collaboration with two Chinese academic institutions and a
commercial partner, the Pulike Biological Engineering Company. Pulike has
begun preparation to make the vaccine candidate at pilot scale to support
further clinical development.

 

TVG has funding in place to screen the seven remaining vaccine constructs. TVG
received a £403,000 grant as part of total £1.46 million provided by the UK
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) through Innovate UK, and the
Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

 

 

Neil Crabb, Frontier IP Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are very pleased
with the progress  made by TVG and its herpesvirus-based vaccine technology -
this project shows it has the potential to combat bacteria as well as viruses.
We are looking forward to results of further developments of the Company's
other animal vaccine projects for Lassa fever, African Swine Fever, and
Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, and a COVID-19 vaccine for use
in humans."

 

 

The Vaccine Group statement begins:

 

TVG successfully completes Anglo-Chinese Streptococcus suis vaccine project

 

 

TVG has completed a successful Anglo-Chinese project backed by the Department
of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Innovate UK, and the Chinese Ministry of
Science and Technology to develop a cross-protective candidate Streptococcus
suis (S suis) vaccine against the most prevalent serotypes 2, 7 and 9.

 

S suis is a major bacterial disease that reduces productivity in pig farming
worldwide. There is currently no effective preventative vaccine. It is also
zoonotic and can cause meningitis, septicaemia and other symptoms in humans.
The disease is currently treated with antibiotics, but there is growing
evidence that it is becoming resistant. Effective vaccines remove the need for
antibiotics.

 

The project started in April 2019 with the twin objectives of developing a
candidate vaccine for S suis in domesticated pigs and to further develop the
TVG platform viral vaccine vector technology. In total, nine candidate vaccine
constructs were made, targeting immunogenic proteins that are highly
conserved across key serotypes.

 

All nine have been shown to be stable in tissue culture, grow to commercially
viable titres and express the selected target proteins at high levels. Two
candidates have been screened in a laboratory rabbit challenge model of S
suis, one of the candidates demonstrating >75% efficacy and strong
serological responses.

 

The project was conducted in collaboration with two Chinese academic
laboratories, the Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute at the Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Science, and the Shanghai Jio Tong University. A major
producer of swine and poultry vaccines, the Pulike Biological Engineering
Company was the commercial partner. Pulike has already transferred production
of the candidate vaccine to suspension cell culture at pilot scale in
preparation for vaccine batch production for clinical development.

 

The three Chinese partners are funded to complete screening of the other seven
S suis vaccine candidates before the end of 2022, with the lead candidates
passing into controlled challenge studies in pigs in early 2023. It is
expected that widespread global uptake of a successfully developed
broad-spectrum S suis vaccine would lead to the reduction of antibiotic use in
commercial pig farming and contribute to a reduced risk of Anti-Microbial
Resistance development.

 

TVG received a £403,000 grant as its share of the project funding. It was
awarded as part of a bilateral research competition between the DHSC's Global
antimicrobial resistance Innovation Fund and the Chinese Ministry of Science
and Technology. UK-China partnerships against antimicrobial resistance get
funding
(https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-china-partnerships-against-antimicrobial-resistance-get-funding?utm_source=3b9d00c6-f249-495f-86ae-094f83a77254&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_content=immediate)

 

Phil Packer, Innovation Lead, Innovate UK, said: "The Vaccine Group (TVG), a
biotech start up company based in Plymouth, and the University of Plymouth
(UoP) have recently completed an IUK-funded project to develop a Streptococcus
suis vaccine candidate for use in commercial pig herds. The project was
conducted in collaboration with three Chinese partner organisations who were
funded through the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology. The
successful output from the project is a lead candidate vaccine which has been
shown to induce protection in a rabbit model of the disease. Further committed
funding will test the candidate for safety and efficacy in pigs in early 2023.
The commercial partner in China is currently scaling up production of the
candidate vaccine with a view to beginning registration studies later in 2023.
IUK would like to congratulate TVG and UoP on the successful completion of
this project and the establishment of a highly productive working relationship
with the three Chinese partner organisations."

 

Jeremy Salt, TVG Chief Executive Officer, said: "Great strides have been made
towards providing a vaccine solution for a significant pig disease during this
project. The flexibility of TVG's bovine herpesvirus technology platform has
been fully utilised to deliver enhanced efficacy."

 

The Vaccine Group statement ends

 

ENQUIRIES

 

 

 Frontier IP Group Plc                                                      T: 020 7332 2338
 Neil Crabb, Chief Executive Officer                                        neil@frontierip.co.uk

 Andrew Johnson, Communications and investor relations                      M: 07464 546 025

 andrew.johnson@frontierip.co.uk (mailto:andrew.johnson@frontierip.co.uk)

 Company website: www.frontierip.co.uk (http://www.frontierip.co.uk/)
 The Vaccine Group

 Jeremy Salt, Chief Executive Officer                                       jeremy.salt@thevaccinegroup.com

 Allenby Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser)                                T: 0203 328 5656

 Nick Athanas / George Payne

ABOUT THE VACCINE GROUP

The Vaccine Group, a spin out from the University of Plymouth, is developing
vaccines based on benign forms of herpesviruses. These are a group of viruses
found in all animals, including humans.

The Company is targeting two main areas: zoonotic diseases, which jump from
animals to humans, and economically damaging diseases in livestock. The
COVID-19 vaccine is the first of the company's vaccines being developed for
humans.

The Company and its international partners have so far been backed by more
than £9 million in grant funding from the US, UK and Chinese
governments. The US government is funding development of Ebola and Lassa
fever virus vaccines. The company has also signed its first commercial
agreement to develop vaccines for Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Virus
Syndrome with ECO Animal Health Group plc.

Other projects underway include developing a vaccine against Streptococcus
suis, a disease in pigs which can be fatal in humans and can only currently
be treated with large doses of antibiotics.

For more information: www.thevaccinegroup.com (http://www.thevaccinegroup.com)

ABOUT FRONTIER IP

Frontier IP unites science and commerce by identifying strong intellectual
property and accelerating its development through a range of commercialisation
services. A critical part of the Group's work is involving relevant industry
partners at an early stage of development to ensure technology meets real
world demands and needs.

The Group looks to build and grow a portfolio of equity stakes and licence
income by taking an active involvement in spin-out companies, including
support for fund raising and collaboration with relevant industry partners at
an early stage of development.

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